Priceless Jewels
by Deja Vu2
Summary: An enemy presence has entered the Abyss and Bulma must find a way to stop it before it destroys any more of her loved ones. Will Vegeta's strength be enough to help save her?(A cross over with the Dark Jewels Trilogy/ (ed. summary))
1. Chapter 1- The Truth

_**Disclaimer:** I don't own DBZ or the characters created by Ann Bishop from the The Dark Jewels Trilogy. I wish I do but I don't. However the idea of how the DBZ world would meld with the Dark Jewels world is mine._

Priceless Jewels Chapter 1- The Truth

  
The rain poured down, pounding the dirt into puddles of mud. The wind beat against the figure standing alone against the storm swept sky, cloak whipping wildly about it's willowy form. Pale hands rose to push back the deep hood, revealing pale blue hair and extraordinary eyes, her predecessor's eyes, the color of brilliant sapphires. Her soft ruby lips parted in exhilaration, curving upward as her mind embraced the wildness surging through the air around her. Then she sighed, crystal tears pricking the back of her eyelids. _Almost time._ This thought whispered across her mind. The world darkened as she pulled her power around her. It enveloped her, drawing her back until she returned to the level of the misty place still deep in the abyss. She found her ancestress waiting for her there.

"Bulma," the beautiful creature greeted her.

"Jaenelle," the young queen greeted the heart of the Blood of Kaeleer. Two pairs of sapphire eyes met. Bulma studied her grandmother, of how many greats she wasn't sure. She studied the slender naked woman before her, whose feet were delicate hooves and whose hands ended in sheathed claws. Her thick blond mane was neither hair nor fur. It was a curious combination of the two, leading down her back to the lightly flicking fawn tail. The small spiral horn rose from the center of her forehead, drawing Bulma's gaze back to the eyes that were so much like her own. 

"Bulma, it's almost time. My body is dead and my spirit will not stay long even in this place, even with the wish granted to you by the Dragon Balls. Not even Lorn's strength can hold out against the laws that dictate my existence. I am dreams made flesh, yet the strongest dreamers who added their dreams to my life are no longer. The dreams that shaped me are all gone. And when the last dreamer who believed is gone I too will fade. Kaeleer and the Earth are almost ready for the new dream. You must be ready to step up to that battle field when it presents itself," Jaenelle told her in a voice that was neither supportive nor unsympathetic. 

"Grandmother, I'm not sure that I'm ready. I _know_ that Yamcha is not. Yet I've never been involved with anyone else. I don't know that I will be prepared for the position you expect me to fill."

"Yamcha," her grandmother replied slowly, thoughtfully, "this is the one with the scar on his face?" At Bulma's nod something shifted and she recognized that she no longer spoke to an equal ranking witch but to her Queen. "He is not worthy of your affection or your time. Forgive me child, but in a society where so much is balanced on trust you cannot take a consort who would not be willing to embrace our ways to even that extent. Beyond that you are a queen, you deserve a mate who would be faithful, out of self-respect if nothing else."

"You mean he's unfaithful," Bulma stated flatly. Her clear eyes darkening, becoming filled with the shadows of half buried memories. _Chichi and Eighteen tried to hint to me gently that I shouldn't be so trusting of him. I didn't listen; I insisted that I wouldn't accuse him unjustly without any evidence because of a vague suspicion. I was wrong. Wrong not to listen to them, wrong to trust him to be true._ Her mind was suddenly enveloped in the comfort of her grandmother's dark power, a reservoir of ancient strength as gently comforting as the small strong arms that wrapped around her now shaking frame. 

Bulma leaned into the quiet sympathy offered. Her head was buried against her grandmother's shoulder so she didn't see Jaenelle's eyes fill with pain for her descendent, or more dangerously the flame of anger at the selfish bastard that had dared to hurt her heir. Slowly Bulma's tears quieted and she stepped back. Witch, her fawn tail flicking uneasily stared at Bulma anxiously. Her granddaughter wiped her fingers over her cheeks; outwardly erasing any sign of grief over her misplaced trust and gave her a wobbly smile.

"Well, it looks like I'll just have to look for someone new," she said, trying for a light tone.

"Indeed you must. Even if he had been faithful to you he would have required more time than we could afford to risk in getting him ready to accept all that you truly are. I'm sorry if my words have upset you. Is there anything I can do for you?" Jaenelle asked quietly. 

"Show me," Bulma demanded abruptly opening her inner barriers.

"Show… Are you certain you wish to know?" Witch asked in her midnight voice. 

"Yes, show her to me."

* Her? Oh child you have no idea…* Before Bulma could question that cryptic statement images began to flood from Witch's mind, an endless parade of faces. Leaves scattering before her, cascading through her heart like a cold dark wind. Bulma gasped falling to her knees under the weight of the proof of Yamcha's infidelity with a stream of other women._ I should be feeling something. It's not normal that I should feel nothing after seeing that. Numb…I must be in shock._ She slowly stood on wooden legs before meeting her grandmother's eyes. Her throat worked and she had to try a couple of times before the she managed to push the words past lips that felt stiff, frozen. 

"I…thank you for showing me that. I needed to see that before I would truly be capable of accepting that he is in fact beyond hope. It's getting late up there. My friends will be arriving in a couple of hours. I should be return now.

"May the darkness embrace you daughter."

"You as well grandmother, mother of my heart." Witch's eyes lit up with a fierce pride. A wild howling rose out of the abyss full of joy and pain, rage and celebration. The mists swirled darkly around Bulma as her grandmother gently pushed her mind back into the physical world. 

The blue haired beauty felt a weight tugging at her._ Heavy._ Her eyelids fluttered open and she stared up at the rough texture of her ceiling. _ Oh. That would be my body wouldn't it?_

"WOMAN!!! WHERE'S MY DINNER!?!?" an angry male voice resonated through out the house. 

"Oh give me a break Vegeta," she mumbled dragging a pillow over her head in the hopes it would either muffle the sound that was causing her headache to pulse behind her eyes or suffocate her. She felt Vegeta outside her door, even before he started pounding on it.

"Woman I want my dinner before the others show up. I will _NOT_ share a table with that third-class baka!" _How dare she ignore me?! I am the Prince of Saiyans and she is a mere human._ When she still failed to respond he opened her door and stepped in. He was about to launch into a more extensive tirade about her proper place when he looked at the bed where she continued to lay stretched out… and stopped breathing.

* * *

Like? Dislike? This is my first DBZ fic ever so please R&R (and be nice). Constructive crititsm and encouragement will be wallowed in, flames ignored. >^.^ 


	2. Chapter 2- The Prince

A/N: The author apologizes for the mistakes in formatting and would like it to be known that she has been sacked.(Don't you just love Monty Python?)

_** Disclaimer: **I don't own DBZ or the Dark Jewels Trilogy, so kindly refrain from suing me. _

Priceless Jewels  
Chapter 2- The Prince

  
Bulma was stretched out on her bed. Vegeta's eyes traveled up her bare shapely legs, over the black lace covering her black silk panties. He dragged his gaze upward, pausing only a moment when he noticed the small hoop that pierced the soft flesh of her stomach and the blue jewel that was attached to it resting against her navel. Filing away that little tidbit of information along with the image of her tiny waist he shifted his gaze farther up. His eyes skimmed over her well-shaped breasts captured in the matching black bra. The arrogant man trailed his eyes caressingly over her collarbone, up her slender neck, and then to… the pillow.   
Vegeta growled as he realized he had been admiring this weak human. Angry with himself for such a sign of weakness and angry at Bulma for the quick jolt of lust that had shot through his system at seeing her body displayed like that. The angry Saiyan Prince stalked toward the bed and reaching out a hand yanked the pillow off Bulma's head and practically yelled, "I was speaking to you Woman. Now where's my dinner?" He had the satisfaction of seeing the pathetic human cringe at his voice.   
Bulma grabbed her head and curled up into a ball on her side. "A minute, in a minute," she muttered through clenched teeth, a wave of nausea washing over her as a particularly viscous pain shot through her skull. She muffled a whimper, trying to ignore the anger of the male standing over her.   
_Hate this. Why does emotional suffering in the abyss have to translate into physical suffering in reality? There's not enough time, I wasted so much thinking, hoping that Yamcha would one day be ready to accept the Blood ways. Oh how could he do this to me?_ She hadn't realized that she had asked the question out loud, didn't notice the tear leaving a glittering trail, like diamonds along the curve of her cheek.   
"Who? What are you talking about now?" Vegeta asked in annoyed exasperation, ignoring the uncomfortable sensation that he felt at seeing her crying.   
"Yamcha cheated on me," Bulma whispered, yet Vegeta, with his saiyan hearing, was able to hear her clearly.   
"So, you've finally found out. I was wondering when he would slip up, the incompetent fool." "You knew? And you didn't tell me?!" she demanded, not quite believing that Vegeta would pass up an opportunity to rub in how worthless Yamcha was.   
"Knowing that something is and proving it are two different things. Besides it isn't any business of mine. Although on Vegeta-sai he would have been executed for cheating on his mate. He's a sorry excuse for a warrior and an even sorrier excuse for a man." Vegeta spoke sneeringly of the absent fighter.   
"Even you believed he was cheating. What, did everyone know but me?"   
"Not everyone. I'm sure that the thought hasn't even occurred to Goku yet."   
Vegeta smirked when she muttered, "How comforting," in response.   
"Now that we have that cleared up would you kindly make my dinner, and do try not to poison me this time. For once I'd like a palatable meal."   
"You can hope, but yeah I guess I can fix you a quick snack before everyone else gets here since you've been comparatively good for you," Bulma dragged a hand through her hair. It was at this point that Bulma realized what she was wearing, or rather what she wasn't wearing. Her eyes widened and she let out a shrill squeak, causing Vegeta to wince before she dived for the edge of her comforter and quickly wrapped it around herself. She glared at the now evilly laughing Saiyan Prince.   
"Stop that right now, or you'll have to fix you own dinner!" she flared her face flaming.   
"Oh come now. You have to admit it's an amusing human quirk to try to make up for something that's already done. I'd already seen you so there was no point in screeching like that Woman," Vegeta said after his laughter had slowed enough to allow him to speak. Bulma stared at him until her soft lips quirked up in reluctant acknowledgement of his point.   
"Get out of here right now, or you go to bed without supper," she commanded him, a slight blush still riding on her cheeks. Yet she spoke without the heat she had used when she had first discovered that he had seen her in her undressed state. And some of the shadows that had entered her eyes during the discussion of her disloyal boyfriend lightened, although the bruised look had not completely left her eyes. Vegeta, noticing this, took his leave muttering about loud-mouthed women who didn't know their proper place. As he walked down the hall he heard her actually giggle and say softly to the room, probably thinking he couldn't hear her, "Thanks for the attempt to be nice to me Vegeta, I honestly didn't expect that out of you. Somehow you always manage to surprise me. Although you were wrong about Yamcha…" her warm voice shifted, became fierce, "he was _ never_ my mate."

**

The Abyss

**

* She's not ready yet is she?* A male voice floated mist like through the Abyss chilling the heart of the listening shadow. *Don't worry, soon you will be gone and she in all her dark glory will be mine. The sands of time flow too quickly for even your clever hands to catch. Soon, Kaeleer and the rest of the Earth will be mine through her and everything you've suffered will be in vain, my clever little Witch. * A mocking laugh, tinged with triumph, crashed over Jaenelle in a vast wave. Jaenelle felt fear, for the first time in centuries, since the war between herself and Terreille. She quickly gathered her strength and with her mind called to her daughter on a psychic communication thread, female to female so that the other presence lurking in the Abyss would be unable to learn anything other than that she as talking to her heir.  
_*BULMA!_ *

* * *

Okay here's the next chapter. I got some questions in the reviews that I'll go ahead and address now.   
Yes Kaeleer still exists.   
Yes I plan to address somewhat of what happened after the war; hopefully what I'm planning will be able to explain how the two worlds are conjoined. This wasn't a question but I feel it may be a necessary thing to mention. The story is being rated R because of the violence, language and small spurts of lime/lemon that might crop up later.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Thanks for Reviews~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Silverstar: I hope that answered your questions. I can't tell you very much more without either a) giving away my entire plot or b) totally confusing you, lol. Thanks for the review.

IneiTenshi: If you get any of the Anne Bishop novels I _ guarantee_ you won't regret it. If you do decide to buy the trilogy you should know that there's also a freestanding novel called the Invisible Ring that takes place before this series. Thanks. >^.^

Black Panther: Here's the next chapter, I hope you like it. 

Raksha: Thank you for the encouragement. I sincerely hope that my efforts live up to your expectation since you are obviously possessed of a sound sense of taste, sister.

Elvin Goddess: I happen to like your stories, so there.(especially The Effects of Alcohol on the Mentally Challenged) But thanks for your review.

Manga: Lol, you _do_ realize just how indepth the Dark Jewels series alone is right? Thanks for the sentiment though. I hope you approved of my efforts in this chapter. 

Moonsaiyanprincess: Thanks for the review. I hope you like it. 


	3. Chapter 3- The Separation

_**Disclaimer:**I don't own DBZ or The Dark Jewels trilogy. I make no money from this, so suing would accomplish nothing. Please don't._

A/N: Sorry for this coming so late in the story. For those of you who aren't familiar with the Dark Jewels the words in _italics_ are thoughts and words surrounded by ** are thoughts sent on a communication thread. Oh, also this part of the story comes bewteen the time Bulma speaks to Witch and and her friends start arriving for their get together.

Pricelss Jewels  
Chapter 3- The Separation

Bulma walked downstairs and into the kitchen, and grabbing a skillet and opening the fridge. She rummaged around until she found a large package of hamburger meat. Taking that, she set about fixing a meal for her Saiyan Prince._ Whoa, hold up girl! Where did THAT come from?! MY Saiyan Prince? Kami, I'm losing it._ She slowly returned to getting all of the ingredients ready that she was going to turn into a big pot of Hungarian Goulash for her_…for Vegeta, damn it, Vegeta._ She huffed out a breath; exasperated with the sharp turn her thoughts had taken. She felt his psychic scent coming toward the kitchen and she accidentally sliced her finger with the knife she had been using to cut the onions. 

Vegeta walked into the kitchen to see Bulma cursing inventively as she held her finger under the tap.

"Hell's Fire, Mother Night, and May the Darkness be Merciful! Oh that was real brilliance there Bulma, you're supposed to be a fucking genius and you can't even dice a damn onion without trying to cut up your own hand! What fucking right does he have to make me start thinking things like that? The bastard!" 

"Issues, Woman?" the watching warrior drawled insultingly. 

"My. Name. Is. Bulma." Her words distinct and spaced out coated in icy civility, "And no I am not having issues." Her blood dripped down her still injured finger, now no longer held under running water or noticed by the defensive young queen. But Vegeta noticed it and moved closer, taking her hand to examine the cut. 

"Hm, it's not very deep. Don't know why you were making such a fuss Woman," he added with deliberate emphasis on the last word, knowing that would further anger her and bring that delightful flush to her cheeks and that dangerous glitter to her brilliant eyes. _Eyes like that sapphire she has resting against her bellybutton._ The memory brought a wicked smile to his face and he stood there grinning at her angry sputtering. Without thinking about what he was doing he started to bring her injured finger toward his lips, wanting to ease the sting, wanting to taste her blood. 

Bulma watched Vegeta draw her still bleeding finger toward his lips. It was an absent minded gesture, and her eyes widened. She quickly snatched her hand from his grasp and turned her back, closing her eyes. 

"It's almost ready. Can you stir the sauce for me please? I'm going to go get a band aide. I'll be back in a minute," with that Bulma ran from the room, not even seeing the frown that had taken possession of Vegeta's features at her negative response. _Why? Why, did she turn from me? I had only been trying to comfort her… and since when do I care about comforting that irrational human female? This planet is making me weak; I must train and get stronger._ He grudgingly stirred the thick red sauce simmering in the pot, only his brooding thoughts to keep him company. 

Bulma leaned against the bathroom door and stared at her pale reflection in the mirror._ Why? Why did I turn away from him? He was actually being comforting. But he doesn't realize the importance of blood within my culture. Blood is memory's river. I don't want him to take my blood, be bound to me… unless he does it knowingly. WHAT?! WHAT AM I SAYING?!?! I DON'T WANT HIM TO BE BOUND TO ME AT ALL!!! THE MAN'S AN ARROGANT BARBARIC JERK WHO THINKS OF NOTHING BUT HIS TRAINING! But… he has been nice to me. I owe him an apology. But not an explanation; no, I'm definitely not going to explain that exchanging blood with a Queen would-_ She cut that thought short; ignoring the rush of what she refused to believe was approval that thought had started to give her. 

With her decision made she set about cleaning the small cut and placing a band aide over it. She returned to the kitchen when she was finished and met Vegeta's scowl. He tossed the spoon on the countertop next to the stove before stalking to the table. _He's so graceful, like some predatory creature, watching, waiting for the best time to strike._ Bulma shook off those thoughts when he turned his head toward her to snap, "What are you staring at me for Woman?" 

"Nothing… I just… I'm sorry Vegeta. You were just trying to be helpful. Thank you," she told him quietly before she turned away and started taking everything off the stove, mixing the sauce in with the noodles. Neither of them said anything else as she worked. She placed a plate in front of him and placed the big pot on a potholder in front of him. He grunted approval at the smell and started to dig in with his customary enthusiasm for his food, causing Bulma to smile. Before he could demand to know what she thought was so funny the doorbell rang and she left to answer it. _Damned woman._

His scowl darkened even more when he sensed the ki of the person who had come in. Wonderful. The moron was here and he was doubtless going to talk that softheaded idiot woman into forgiving him for whatever indiscretion she had found out about. Stupid humans. Bulma deserved a faithful mate and Yamcha deserved his balls ripped off. But… Bulma had said earlier that Yamcha was never her mate. _Just what had she meant by that? And why do I care? It's none of my business if she decides to take that_ thing _back._

Bulma had opened the door, stiffening when she saw Yamcha grin boyishly at her. She had evaded his embrace when he had tried to take her into his arms for a kiss. She told him, firmly, that they needed to talk. Her formal tone in addressing him told him something was wrong. Now they sat facing each other in the room she had led him to. She had plunked him down at the table and was sitting down across from him, observing his uneasy shifting with a cool indifference. 

"Bulma, baby, what's the matter?" he finally asked when she continued to stare at him as if he were a smear on slide. 

"First off, let's get one thing straight. My name is Bulma, a simple five-letter word. I tolerate enough of that from Vegeta because he's a prince and he ignores everything I say anyway, so nothing that I say will probably keep him from calling me anything other than my name. I will not tolerate that from you. Secondly, the matter, as I see it is your inability to keep your pants on. Tell me Yamcha, just how long did you think you could cheat on me without my finding out?" The calmness with which she spoke, as if she were only lightly curious, scared him, although not as much as the frozen look in her eyes. 

"Bulma, I can explain." The room was cold._ When had the room gotten so cold? _

"Then by all means, please do. And Yamcha? Make it good, make it _very_ good." _Or I just might slash your mind to shreds you two-timing asshole._ She continued to stare at him with no expression in her ancient sapphire eyes. He couldn't help it. He began to shiver.

  


* * *

Okay, that's the end of this chapter. I was going to make it longer but I decided to make Yamcha sweat. ^_^   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Thanks for Reviews~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Angel-of-Halo: Sorry to leave you hanging. I just couldn't help it. Glad you liked it though. *holds out a tissue*

Kay:Thanks for reading. I started of this after my friend _finally_ returned my Queen of the Darkness book. It had been an idea I had been toying around with. For some reason the way the Z-fighters behaved reminded me of the males of this world and so *shrugs*

manga: Soon. Very soon. ^_~ Thanks for reading. I appreciate your input. And you're right about Vegeta, but I have a twist about his rank coming up later that I hope you like. 

Silverstar: Thanks for the reviews. It's a weekend so it's easier for me to write more. However I hope I'll be able to keep adding chapters as quickly, since you seem to like what I've done so far. Thanks. 

Raksha: Yeah, everyone else will be categorized, eventually. I'm glad there's a general consensus on the fact that Vegeta should be a Warlord Prince since he will be. Lol. I didn't want to ruin the suprise, but about the offering, um, have you read The Invisible Ring yet? It kind of explains the dangers to a witch when the male who performs her virgin night is weaker than herself. Please keep reviewing. Having someone as familiar with the series as I am approve of my efforts makes me feel rather like Wilhemina when Lucivar handed her that gravedigger. j/k ^_^ 


	4. Chapter 4-The Queen

_**Disclaimer:** Don't own DBZ, don't own the Dark jewels, don't own my own twisted mind...wait, nope don't own my own twisted mind. I own very little so please don't take what I have by suing me.T_T Thanks. ^_^ _

A/N: Yay! I'm on an insomnia jag. Oh wait, that's a bad thing. *Smacks forhead.* 2:00 in the morning, and man you can tell. Ok, warning this one's going to have a bit more humor in it than the last ones, but then this one will have just about the entire cast. Poor Veggie, I can just see him crashing over from his stool in shock. Lol. This is going to be fun. *rubs hands together* 

Priceless Jewels  
Chapter 4-The Queen

They were all gathered in the living room. Goku and ChiChi had finally arrived with Gohan and Piccolo in tow. Krillin had arrived a few minutes before them with 18. Master Roshi had been there for over an hour flicking through the channels and looking for porn. Bulma had caught him once, but after that he had found a harmless channel and whenever she got too close he quickly flicked the quick view button so that the pornographic movie quickly changed to the 'Hyena Habits' that was showing on the education channel. Yamcha had come in and sat down with him, but whenever Bulma came anywhere close he would look at her with hunted eyes, and tensing as if ready to bolt. Bulma just smiled enigmatically and didn't answer whenever Oolong and Puar tried to find out what was going on with her and Yamcha. Sitting next to the wall where he could observe the door and everyone in the room, none of them noticed Vegeta's sharp interest in the interaction between the couple. "Great, looks like we're all here. Let's eat," Bulma announced happily after she counted heads.

"Um, actually Bulma, I was just waiting for everyone to show up tonight so I could say hi. I uh, I really can't stay any longer. I'll see all of you guys later okay?" Everyone watched Yamcha back toward the door with a nervous smile at the room in general.

"Yes you can, you silly goose. I called and asked you only a couple of hours ago and you assured me there was nothing on your agenda tonight and that you were looking forward to hanging out with everyone since we hadn't all gotten together like this for a while. Don't feel like you have to leave just because I dumped you. We agreed to stay friends remember Yamcha?"

"Wait a minute! You guys broke up? But why?" a confused Goku asked them. 

"You should at least stay for dinner with us," Bulma went on ignoring Goku's enlightened expression when ChiChi whispered something in his ear. He looked upset but after a warning glance from his wife stopped short. "In fact I insist. Just dinner Yamcha and after that you're free to leave if you want. A simple enough request wouldn't you agree?" Yamcha, looking like a deer in headlights, agreed faintly before joining them all for dinner. 

The atmosphere was heavy with no one speaking at first, but Gohan asked Krillin how his training was going. And eventually everyone started joining in, except for Yamcha, and Vegeta of course. By the time the last course had been served, everyone was comfortable once more. Even Yamcha hesitantly spoke to Bulma and she responded as if nothing untoward had happened between them, although the slightly panicky look never quiet left his eyes that night. 

When everyone had finished Yamcha quickly said his leave and bolted from the house. As soon as the door closed behind him 18 and ChiChi immediately turned to look at Bulma. The guys sensing the movement followed their line of sight to its source. Soon everyone was staring at the blue haired woman who sat fidgeting nervously and trying to avoid all 10 pairs of eyes now focused on her. Eventually her girlfriends got tired off waiting for her to explain what that was all about. 

"Bulma," ChiChi prompted.

"What did you do to him?"18 asked curiously. 

Bulma's eyes flicked to the guys before she plastered a very bright, very artificial smile on her face and said, "Nothing. I didn't touch him. Why do you ask?" ChiChi and 18 looked at each other before getting up and taking hold of one of her arms each. They tossed a "We'll be a few minutes" over their shoulders at the very confused males as they pulled Bulma who resisted, protesting her innocence the entire way, into the next room. The door slammed behind the females.

"Um okay," Krillin said to the room in general.

"No kidding," Goku agreed staring at the closed door, "they're definitely up to something." 

Vegeta said, "Humph," rolling his eyes at this obvious statement from where he stood propped against the wall with his arms crossed. In the other room ChiChi rounded on Bulma, repeating 18's earlier question, "What did you do to him?"

"What do you mean, I didn't do anything to him. If something happens to him it'll be because he did it to himself."

"Oh come on your doing nothing to him had him scrambling out the doo- Wait a minute, you what did you just say?" 18 asked her, catching the significance of Bulma's previous statement.

"I said I haven't done anything to him and if just happens to occur to him it'll be his own fault." Bulma patiently restated herself. 

"Mmhhhm, I seeeeeeee. So what was the command in the web?" ChiChi asked, caressing every syllable as she spoke the words with a dripping delight. 

"Oh, that… well. Nothing will happen to him as long as he's a good boy from now on, that's all."

"And if he's not a good boy?" 18 asked, getting into the game of making Bulma spill about how she responded to finding out about Yamcha's cheating on her. 

In the living room the guys fidgeted nervously. Master Roshi and Oolong went back to the TV although they found an aerobics station instead in consideration of the fact that Gohan was now present. Gohan just scratched his head and, shrugging, went and filled up his plate, which he nearly dropped when a loud screech echoed throughout the house.

"YOU DID WHAT TO HIM!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!!!!!" Chichi shrieked.

"OH MY GOD BULMA, _VEGETA'S_ NOT THAT EVIL!!!!!!" 18's laughter joined ChiChi's and it was minutes before the guys worked up the nerve to open the door to the room with the women. When they looked in they saw the blonde android actually on the floor laughing. Chichi was stretched out on the couch, face red from her mirth, pointing at Bulma who sat in a chair, the upper half of her body draped over the arm as she giggled helplessly. ChiChi was the first to notice the guys' hesitant entrance and she pointed at them and started to howl with laughter once more, 18 started to roll on the floor when she saw their anxious expressions. Bulma looked at them then hid her face against the arm of the chair, and joined in with her companions' laughter. As the women continued to indulge in their hysterics Vegeta looked in the room with professional interest and wondered aloud, "Has anyone ever died from laughing?"

Later that evening after everyone had left, Bulma made her rounds checking all the doors and windows and turning out lights in unoccupied rooms. Suddenly she grabbed her head as a shout reverberated throughout her skull, the sheer volume of it driving her to her knees. __

*Bulma! * 

She instinctively opened her barriers to the vast mind that scrabbled so desperately to reach her own, reaching out with her own strength, a steadying hand on the arm of a stumbling mind. *Jaenelle, what's wrong?! *

*Bulma, you must have it now, tonight! *

*WHAT?! Why? Grandmother what is it? What's wrong?! *

*The one I told you of is here in the Abyss. He plans to destroy the final dreamer tonight and when he does I will no longer be here. My strength will no longer protect you. Hurry child, you must! If you don't have it tonight then you will never have it… Please Bulma, for once in your life do as you are told without questioning me. *

*Your will is my life, my Queen. * Bulma answered, falling back on protocol to indicate that she understood the command beneath the emotion in Jaenelle's voice, despite the fact that the older woman was technically no longer a Queen. She felt a rush of love fill her inner barriers, along with the knowledge of how to use her craft once she had gained her full strength, but the images faded before she could grasp them and Bulma knew that she would be unable to learn anything she had seen until she was ready. Then the little jewels of information would flow to her, as she needed it. Then Jaenelle was gone. Bulma sent a probe down into the Abyss and felt an answering flicker, reassuring her that her grandmother still existed; Witch just had something else now demanding her more immediate attention. 

The young Queen stood, knowing what she had to do. She finished locking up the room she was in, lingering over the latches longer than necessary, trying to figure out how she would ask the proud prince to do this favor for her. Slowly she made her way to the kitchen where Vegeta was fixing himself a sandwich before bed. She walked into the kitchen, avoiding looking at the saiyan who had paused what he was doing to look at her with his unreadable eyes, eyes as black as the Ebony jewel she already possessed. Bulma decided to try to start with small talk and work her way around to her real reason for joining him in the kitchen when she normally went directly to bed. 

"Interesting night wasn't it?" she said as casually as she could, bending down into the fridge to retrieve the pitcher of orange juice, hoping she didn't look as pale as she felt. She heard Vegeta grumble something in response. When she turned around he was standing there and she took a quick step back, crashing into the door behind her. She froze as he continued to stare at her with annoyed expectation. Finally he growled lightly, shoving the mayonnaise jar into her hand and wrapped his hand around her upper arms. Then he casually lifted her out of the way, retrieved the jar and placed it into the fridge before grabbing his plate and taking it to the table. 

Bulma went to the cabinet and grabbed a glass and quickly poured some juice in it, nearly spilling it in the process. Then she placed the glass into the fridge until she realized she was holding the pitcher of juice. Making a fretful sound in her throat she reopened the white door, and recovered the glass and placed the pitcher back in its place. Vegeta watched, finding her weird behavior obscurely entertaining for some reason that he refused to examine too closely, wondering what had the woman so nervous. 

She brought her glass to the chair across from Vegeta's and sat down facing him. She watched him eat in silence for a minute. Then she reluctantly decided to just go ahead and explain a bit about being a Blood female and then go ahead and ask him. 

"Um, Vegeta, can I talk to you for a minute?" she asked him hesitantly.

"I don't see why not. You've never hesitated to talk at me before," he responded, seemingly indifferent. In his head he was reviewing his statement and he realized it was true. Bulma had never before asked him if he would participate in a conversation. She would just start talking and he would respond or not, depending on how annoying he found her at the time. He watched the annoyance flare in her eyes.

"I'm serious, Vegeta!" she informed him coldly. 

"So am I. Go ahead and say whatever it is you have to say, since you obviously aren't going to let me sleep tonight until you say your piece." He took another bite of sandwich and stared at her while she squirmed in her seat. He nearly choked when he caught her stray thought. _Actually I don't think I'll be able to let you sleep all night even after I've said my piece._ Just what was _that_ supposed to mean? 

"Um, okay. How do I explain this? Well you see Vegeta, the thing is I'm a… Blood female. Let me explain this real quick," she stated hurriedly when he looked ready to ask a question. She went on, talking more to the table than to him. "Ok Blood Society is very matriarchal. That means that women are really important among us. We're very powerful, but we're also dependent on the males around us for physical protection. There are certain periods of time when we're most vulnerable and the males keep us safe during those periods." She risked a quick glance at him and saw that he had finished his sandwich and was looking at her as if to say, 'Yes? Get on with it Woman'.

"One of those times is when they first become… um…" _Crap, what was that phrase Jaenelle used?_ "Sexually mature. Of course there's an up side and a downside to this, depending on how it's done and the of course the strength of the partner they choose. On the upside, if it's done right they walk away with their minds and powers intact. They are also capable of making the Offering and achieving their full adult strength at this point. On the downside, if it's not done correctly, then they could get pushed into the Twisted Kingdom or their mind could remain intact, but they… their strength would be broken. That's kind of what the last war in Kaeleer was about. There was more to it than that of course, but that was a major consideration. You see these men from Terreille who had been mistreated by women; sometimes they would go around and break young witches when they were too weak to fight back and- "

"Stop rambling at me Woman. Now just what are you trying to tell me?" He was trying to figure out where she was going with this.

_Oh my God, I can't do this. This is Vegeta!_ "Jaenelle, that is, the spirit of my grandmother, told me that there's a presence in the Abyss. It's a threat to me, but one that I can't combat, even with my strength as it is now. I know that I need this tonight or I'll very like get broken before I can achieve my full strength." Bulma took a deep breath and looked the mystified prince directly in the eye. "Vegeta, I'd like you to perform my Virgin Night for me."

  


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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Thanks for Reviews~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

moonsaiyanprincess: I'm sorry Yamcha isn't suffering very much...yet. And he won't unless he's a bad boy. I rather like what Bulma did to him. ^_^ As I told manga, soon. Very soon.

IneiTenshi: Thanks. I have no life with all of my friends out of town, no essays due for English (AP Exams are over, lalala, lol!) and a bad case of insomnia at the moment. I'll probably hit chapter 8 by Monday or something @_@. It's not a problem though, I'm glad you're enjoying it.

Raksha: About your question of Vegeta's response, you're about to find out. Beyond that, I'm glad Jaenelle made that. I think anything that can turn two of the most powerful males in the world into blubbering idiots who walk around trying to shake hands with themselves deserves an award... or something. ... How _did_ that fishy get caught in his laces? Lol. 

So, like off hand, what do you guys say? should Yamcha be incrediably stupid in my in my next chapter or so and be a wicked, bad, naughty boy? I have to warn you though, the effect of this tangled web is permanent and not to be activated lightly. You guys are going to decide on this one so please R&R. 


	5. Chapter 5- The Deal

_**Disclaimer:**I don't own DBZ or the Dark Jewels Trilogy. I make no money from this (or anything else that I do for that matter) so don't sue me 'kay? Cause then I'd just have to cry._

A/N: 3rd day with no sleep, so if anyone feels that my work is starting to suffer, then please feel free to slap me. Hard. I would _never_ want poor Veggie or Bulma to suffer from a bad writer. And to those of you who know the Dark Jewels, if you catch anything I've overlooked let me know okay? Other than that, enjoy.

Priceless Jewels  
Chapter 4-The Deal

Bulma ducked her head after blurting out her question to hide her flaming cheeks. When Vegeta didn't respond she risked another quick glance at him. He was staring at her, his Ebony eyes looking into hers with an unreadable expression. He said nothing, allowing the silence to stretch. Bulma dropped her eyes to the tabletop again. There was a really pretty design in the wood, it's shape looked rather like a cat, a little kitten curled up in a ball. _Lucivar, I'll name it Lucivar._ She jerked in surprise when he finally spoke. 

"Why me?" 

She hauled her gaze up from the table, and spoke to his chest. _He has such a nice chest, so muscular and wide._ "Um, I already explained to you, I need to have my Virgin Night tonight or else I won't have it at all ever." 

"Let's try this again, Woman," Vegeta said silkily, dangerously. "Look me in the eye when you answer. Why me?" 

She managed to drag her gaze up to his throat. Her eyes fixed on his pulse. She could see it beating beneath his skin, a strong rhythm. She vaguely wondered what it would be like to take a sip of his hot blood directly from his vein. _Surely it would be strong, with his hi ki level. Would having a high energy level be anything like having a dark jewel?_ She shuddered lightly at the course her thoughts were taking. She couldn't take his blood. A small mocking voice in the back of her head reminded her that she also couldn't ask him to perform her Virgin Night. A thought that reminded her that Vegeta was still waiting for a response from her. _Now what was the question?_ Oh yeah. 

"Because I can't make the Offering until I have had my Virgin Night." She mentally kicked herself when the statement came out sounding more like a question, as if she were wishing that he would accept her statement as enough. A half formed hope that died with his next words. 

"Not good enough. You've yet to reach my eyes, Woman." The mood in the room shifted, now pulsed with a subtle suggestion that she couldn't quite define. Whatever this new mood coming off Vegeta was, it was making her more nervous than any snide remark he could have chosen to make at that moment. 

Slowly her eyes trailed up to his lips. They looked so soft. And they look so much more inviting when he isn't scowling. Much more inviting with that little half formed smirk you can tell is just waiting around the edges of his lips. _What would it feel like to have those lips on mine, on me?_ She blinked, shook her head slightly. "Because, even though Yamcha didn't have the power to break through my inner barriers, he definitely didn't have the strength to keep the chalice of my mind intact if I got scared. Whereas you have the strength to keep me from ripping through my own webs, even if it is painful." 

"Higher Bulma." Her eyes flew to his in shock. Did he actually just call her by her name? _No... did he actually just_ purr _my name?_ She stared at him disbelievingly, no coherent thought beyond that point. That mocking little voice chose that moment to drip words into the silence of her mind._ Well, looks like he finally figured out how to shut you up. 'Why do you want him to do it?' It was a simple question; all it takes is a simple,_ honest _answer. Just say it._ Almost against her will the words formed in the back of her of her throat and spilled from her tongue before she could think to take them back. 

"Because I want you to be the one to do it." 

Satisfaction flared in his eyes as he slowly stood up. Without taking his eyes off her he started around the table toward her, moving with the catlike grace she had been admiring earlier that evening. Now Bulma stood up in response and was seriously considering bolting from the room. Her breath became shallow as she watched him get closer. Vegeta seemed to notice her response and watched with narrow eyed amusement. Bulma shifted to the side. Vegeta's arm shot out, blocking her. When she shifted the other way, his other arm was already in position, trapping her between him and the table. She stared up at him, wondering if she had made a huge mistake, asking this saiyan to be her first lover. 

"Very well. I will perform this 'Virgin Night' of yours on one condition." 

Bulma suddenly realized that he wasn't human and she knew nothing about any mating rituals that might be unique to the saiyans. She licked her lips nervously. She looked into his dark eyes and forced herself to ask the question. 

"What condition is that?" 

A sharp, feral smile spread across Vegeta's wonderfully shaped lips, and he leaned toward her.

* * *

Oooh don't you just hate me? Sorry but I opted to do this one in two parts, first Bulma's POV and then Vegeta's, so you won't find out the condition until at least the next chapter *runs away and hides from angry crowd waving sharp pointy sticks*

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Thanks for Reviews~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
devl's lil imp: Thanks, I hope the chapters are living up to your expectations.

Mushi-azn: I'm glad you appreciate my attempts at cliffhanging. Thanks for the review.

Raksha: As always your input is valued. Of course yamcha should suffer as is right and proper. I'm rather inclined to think you'd appreciate the justice of what is in store for him, yet no one else has declared that he should suffer, merely expressing an interest in what would be in store for him if he did. *sigh* Thanks for the review dark sister. Lol.

Silverstar: Thanks(x2) Yeah, I know that it seemed way weird to have Vegeta do her Virgin Night but I really thought it would be appropriate. Every fic I read where she was with Yamcha first had her comparing him to Yamcha, or something so I thought he should have a chance with her where Yamcha hasn't been part of the equation. Besides trust is also a major factor, and let's face it, can you honestly imagine Yamcha being strong enough or trustworthy enough? @_@

kapies: Thanks for reviewing. knowing that my efforts are being well recieved by lovers of Anne Bishop's work and DBZ just gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling all over. Lol. 

_ Special note: The cat thingy at the beginning popped up because my cat was curled up in an adorable widdle ball with his paw over his nose. You know that thing they do when they're just oozing cuteness? Well my cat's name is Lucivar in honor of the fact that I had just finished reading the second noevl and when I got my baby, Lucivar had gold eyes and an attitude, kind of like Lucivar, who had gold eyes and an attitude. So in case you like cared... or something, the tabletop thing was a direct reference to my cat and an indirect reference to the Warlord Prince. Did that make sense? ...Nevermind._


	6. Chapter 6-The Deal(2)

_**Disclaimer:**I don't own DBZ or the Dark Jewels Trilogy. *sniff* So if you are quite finished shattering my dreams. I'm going to go cry in a corner now. *sob*_

Priceless Jewels  
Chapter 6-The Deal

Vegeta sat unmoving as his thoughts started to whirl around his mind._ A virgin. She's a virgin. Fucking Yamcha didn't even have the sense to value her enough to… What a horrible thought. For her sake I'm glad she didn't give such a gift to that undeserving cur. But why is she treating this like it's an unwanted duty rather than the privilege it should be?_ He watched her face flush in embarrassment. He felt a quick flash of anger at the type of society that would make Bulma feel she had to be ashamed of doing something that should be a wonderful experience._ Wait a minute! Since when do I care that her world has a slightly warped sense of propriety, or that those ways to which she had been raised were causing her such anxiety now? And why do I_ want_ to be the one to give this experience to her? _He ignored the little voice that answered his silent questions. She continued to stare at the table and he asked her the one thing about her request that bothered him the most. 

"Why me?" His words fell like a stone and he watched her body jerk. To avoid looking in his eyes she stared at his chest as she answered him.

"Um, I already explained to you, I need to have my Virgin Night tonight or else I won't have it at all ever."

He was getting really pissed off with her evasions. He wasn't going to give her an answer until he got one with her looking in his eyes as she spoke. With that decision made he decided to prod her some more.

"Let's try this again, Woman," Vegeta said silkily, dangerously. "Look me in the eye when you answer. Why me?" He could practically feel her mounting discomfort like a wave of heat from the other side of the table. She slowly lifted her eyes to his throat, and stared at it. He was getting tired of waiting so he tried to taste her thoughts._ Would having a high energy level be anything like having a dark jewel?_ He didn't understand what that meant but he had a feeling it had something to do with their topic of conversation. 

"Because I can't make the Offering until I have had my Virgin Night." She said quickly, hopefully, still staring at his throat._ Why am I doing this to her. Why isn't it enough that she should ask me to do this for her?_ He suddenly understood the answer, because he wanted her to want him for himself, not because he was convenient.

"Not good enough. You've yet to reach my eyes, Woman." He allowed his desire free reign. He knew she sensed the slowly charging atmosphere, but he also recognized the slightly bewildered look that said she didn't quite understand the cause. He saw her eyes shift upward to his lips and her stare as if fascinated by the sight. He had a hard time not giving into the instinct to smirk at her dazed expression. He didn't want to scare her off by allowing her to think he was being condescending. He watched her brilliant sapphire eyes, darkened eyes that had misted with an answering desire somewhere along the way, blink slowly before she shook her head to clear it.

"Because, even though Yamcha didn't have the power to break through my inner barriers, he definitely didn't have the strength to keep the chalice of my mind intact if I got scared. Whereas you have the strength to keep me from ripping through my own webs, even if it is painful." Her voice was slightly husky, caressing, like crushed velvet brushing against yielding ivory skin. Vegeta felt a deep hunger for her clawing its way into his stomach and his body tightened painfully in response. 

"Higher Bulma," his voice became a seductive purr caressing each syllable of her name as if each individual sound were as precious as a Twilight's Dawn jewel. He saw the shock in her eyes as she quickly raised her eyes to his. He felt her scrambling thoughts. _Did he actually call me by name?_ He stared at her eyes, willing her to give him the answer he wanted.

"Because I want you to be the one to do it."

He couldn't prevent the satisfaction he felt at having gotten her capitulation from his face. Without taking his eyes from hers he slowly stood up and with his usual catlike grace began to walk around the corner, stalking his voluntary prey. He watched as she nervously scrambled up from her chair and stood tensely watching him approach. He could feel each of her panting breaths, could hear her heart beat thundering in her chest. Overwhelming desire warred with wild fear for dominance in her eyes.

As he got close she seemed to change her mind about the entire thing. Bulma shifted to the side. Vegeta's arm shot out, blocking her. When she shifted the other way, his other arm was already in position, trapping her between him and the table. This close to her it was even easier for him to pick up what she was thinking, what she was feeling. She was wondering if she had just made one of the hugest mistakes of her life._ Too late to worry now Woman, you should have considered that before even bringing the subject up. Now you're going to have to deal with consequences. _

Bulma's body was trembling uncontrollably. Vegeta looked at her in irritation._ If she keeps shaking like that she'll tear something._ As funny as he found the loud-mouthed woman's misplaced fears about him, he found it equally important to keep her safe. He wasn't sure if she actually could tear something with her shaking, but as soon as the thought formed he found he wasn't willing to risk it._ You can never tell with these humans. I better distract her. _He looked directly in her eyes and said gravely said, "Very well. I will perform this 'Virgin Night' of yours on one condition."

Bulma froze for a second. Then, licking her lips nervously, she took the bait. "What condition is that?" The tip of her pink tongue running across her lips distracted Vegeta, but he quickly refocused himself when she asked her question. A sharp, feral smile spread across Vegeta's wonderfully shaped lips, and he leaned toward her.

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A/N: Ok, well that' this chapter. Same as last but from Vegeta's POV. Just like I threatened. Alright, here's the next thing. Do you guys want a lemon between Bulma and vegeta? I've never written one so I can't guarantee how it would turn out, but if you want them to have some action I'm willing to try. I am promising nothing though if you do. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Thanks for Reviews~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
Roya: Okay, okay, okay. Another Chapter today as per request, Lol. Thanks for dropping a line. 

Bunnie Girl: I'm sorry everyone writing a B/V fic isn't finished. I've read some of them myself that I would kill to find out what happens next. On the upside I have no life,this means I only started this story friday night and I'm already on the 6th Chap, so the story is going well and it has been getting updated frequently.

Kiarene: Glad you like it. um, I'm considering making it a lemon, but I've never written one and you're the only person who has requested that it should be one. If more people think it should get a flat out lemon part then I'll make it one, otherwise it might get limey, but little else.

IneiTenshi: Your allowing my continued existence is very generous of you(although not w/o an ulterier motive) Lol. Hope you think this chapter was even hotter since Vegeta was a lot clearer headed than Bulma was. ^_~

Nattie: As explained to Bunnie Girl: The chapters are short but they recieve frequent updating, or they have so far. Veggie's 'condition' comes at the beginning of next chapter. Please don't shoot me when it does, I have a very warped sense of humor and I like to indulge it from time to time.

Sil: Thanks, I'm glad you approve. I've gotten to where I use Anne Bishop as one of my yardsticks in writing. If I can't imagine a charcter in one of her books(or another one of what I percieve as equal literary merit) I don't consider the character to have enough depth. BTW, I like your e-mail address. I'm trying to convince my bro to name his child after his wife's dad and ours if it's a boy cause the acronym would end up being BARD. He continues to resist.*pout* 


	7. Chapter 7- The Danger

_**Disclaimer:**I don't own DBZ or the Dark Jewels Trilogy. Wow, this is an incredibly redundant statment. You know if I owned these things I would be so vain considering how often I would be complimenting my own work. It's pity I don't. *sigh*_

Priceless Jewels  
Chapter 7-The Danger

Vegeta leaned his body even closer, pressing into her soft curves to absorb the tremors running through her body. His arms were now wrapped around her. He brushed his lips against her neck, taking in the scent of her hair with a deep breath. Then he lifted his lips to her ear, leaving a cold spot on her neck in the absence of his warm breath. When he finally answered his voice was pure seduction, liquid gold flowing through her intoxicatingly. It took a moment for his words to sink in. Then her eyes widened and she stared at him blankly. 

"You… what?" 

He chuckled softly at her utter confusion. His voice took on an edge of laughter that only added to the effect it had on Bulma. 

"I said, 'I will perform your 'Virgin Night' on the condition that you tell me what you did to Yamcha that was more evil than anything that_ I_ would like to do to him.'" Bulma gave him a clear-eyed look before she collapsed in a helpless fit of giggles against his broad chest. 

"All things considered, I thought it was a relatively simple request Woman." Vegeta observed more to the room than the blue haired beauty clinging to his neck, resuming his normal speaking voice, although it lacked its usual sting when he spoke. 

"You," gasp, " want to know," nothing beyond this point was intelligible, as she was now laughing too hard to speak clearly. Finally her laughter settled to a quiet enough level that she was able to meet her end of the deal. 

"Um, well, you see Vegeta, umm the thing is… I'm couple of things in Blood society, not just a regular witch. One of those things is a Black Widow. And, as a Black Widow I can cast what are called tangled webs. So… weeeeeeellllllll, when I found out that Yamcha had technical difficulties, so to speak, with being faithful, I kind of created a tangled web that…"her words trailed off in an indistinguishable mumble. She hid her face against his neck; he could feel the heat from her blushing face._ The weirdest things embarrass this female._

"What was that Woman? I didn't quite catch what you said," Vegeta informed her. She slowly raised her head and without meeting his eyes sighed. 

"I weaved a tangled web that would be activated the next time he sleeps with any woman, or hell I don't know man, that he can only have relations with that person from that point on. If he cheats on them with someone else he will become impotent for the rest of his life regardless of who he sleeps with." She reburied her head against his neck as he stared at the wall across the room digesting this bit of information. Suddenly he reared his head back and started roaring with laughter. 

Bulma jerked back and stared at her prince, watching him genuinely laugh for the first time since she had met him. He had a very rich deep laugh that reverberated through the room. Bulma couldn't help it. She joined in and soon they were both laughing so hard anyone walking into the room at that point would have a hard time telling who was holding up whom. 

Vegeta chuckled a bit. "That was brilliant. I haven't laughed that hard since… ever. And now, little witch, that was the term you used wasn't it?" At her nod he continued, "Since you've kept your part of the deal, it's my turn to keep my half of the deal." He noticed the nerves return to her sapphire eyes. He felt a moment of fear _exasperation; surely it was exasperation_ at the thought that she would start shaking again. Before she could get nervous again, he quickly grabbed her around her tiny waist and tossed her over her his shoulder. He walked out the door, pausing only long enough to shut off the lights, and up the stairs towards his bedroom. He ignored the angry yells Bulma directed at him and the tiny fists that pounded against his shoulder and the feet that waved angrily in the air before him. 

He dropped her on his bed once they arrived and she shot up off of it, falling back down after bouncing off of the wall that blocked her escape. She glared up at the spiky haired man who looked calmly at her. He turned around and walked into the bathroom, his voice floating back to her. "Believe it or not I have done this before and no one's died from it. The water came on and he thoughtfully added, "Yet." 

Bulma still lying on the bed muttered, "How comforting." 

"I heard that." He leaned against the doorframe wearing only a pair of baggy black pants, watching her with a considering expression. "You know, you don't have to do this if you really don't want to. After all, wouldn't most of your kind consider it very illogical to lose your virginity on the basis that a dead woman told you that there was a threatening presence? Especially considering how obviously reluctant you are to do so," he finished in a rankled tone. 

_ Jaenelle. No I do have to do this, Vegeta. I will not ignore a request from my grandmother, a command from my queen. Witch never asks anyone to do they'd rather not do without a very good reason. I trust her and strangely enough…I trust you too._ Bulma shook her head at her thoughts, unaware that her thought had been loud enough for her lover to pick them up, answering the observation made by the arrogant man standing across the room. Bulma drug a hand through her long blue hair, "I…listen Vegeta, I told you everything that applies to the immediate issue but there's so much more to it that I don't know where to even try to begin. So I'll just say that yes, I do have to do this, whether I want to or not." 

Vegeta gave a slight nod. He walked over to the bed and held out a hand to her. Slightly confused, Bulma placed her hand in his and he drew her to her feet. 

"One of the requirements of fulfilling my part of our deal," he powered up, focusing his energy almost completely into the index finger he held before the curious eyes of his woman, the woman, "requires getting rid of these." And with that he trailed his finger along the front of her dress, his energy burning through the thin material as well as the thin layer beyond that. Vegeta let his energy flare out and smirked evilly at her stunned expression and brushed the material that clung to her shoulder aside, leaving her wearing only the black lace silk panties and the black jewel hanging from the ring in her stomach._ Black? Wasn't it blue earlier? _

He was distracted form his thoughts when Bulma unconsciously started to cross her arms to cover herself. Vegeta seized her arms with his hands preventing her from completing the action. She met his eyes and flinched from the angry look on his face. She quickly dropped her eyes, tilting her head forward so that her hair was just long enough to completely cover her breasts. Vegeta growled low in his throat when he noticed what she was doing. He grabbed Bulma's chin and jerked her head up until she looked into his face. 

"Let's get some things straight. You will not hide your face because of anything anyone else says or thinks; you are not answerable to anyone else for your actions. You are about to become the lover of the Prince of all Saiyans. You will _not_ act as if it is shameful. Do you understand?" he spoke harshly his fingers holding her face firmly in place so that she couldn't cringe away from the anger he was projecting into his words. 

Bulma gave a quick jerky nod, not trusting her voice. Vegeta, however, seemed satisfied with that as a response and his fingers gentled on her face. "Good, now be still." He took a step back and studied her through narrow eyes. She kept her eyes on his face, sufficiently startled by his out burst to comply. 

His eyes shifted over her body, becoming slits when her hands twitched as if she was considering disobeying his command. _Impudent human!_ But Bulma remained still and Vegeta resumed his leisurely perusal of her body._ Hm. A beautiful face, with intelligent eyes, and a shapely figure, graceful, with full breasts and wide hips, perfect for bearing an heir. And that dipshit gave this up for momentary satisfaction. The moronic inclinations of the males on this world never cease to amaze me._

Bulma getting edgy under his unwavering stare decided it was time to break the silence. "Hey, it's not fair that I should stand here wearing practically nothing while you're wearing a pair of pants." His wicked smile flashed again and without answering he pulled the tight strings that were holding his pants up, letting them pool around his feet. Bulma let out a squeak and quickly averted her eyes, although not before she'd had a clear view of what he was offering her. She squeaked again when he quickly scooped her up and deposited her on the bed once more. 

She tried to shift her body away when she felt him stretch out beside her, but was prevented by the strong arm that wrapped itself around her. When he didn't do anything else she felt her body start to relax, getting used to the feel of his heat against her skin, the hard muscles of his arm bunched under her hands. She turned questioning blue eyes toward him, wondering what he was going to do next. _He seems to delight in keeping me off guard. _

It was one of the last coherent thoughts she had for a while because soon Vegeta's hands and lips were everywhere, stroking, grazing, nibbling, and caressing. One minute gentle, the next rough enough to make her cry out. It wasn't very long before passion overcame reticence and Bulma began to follow his lead, returning the favor of his treatment. Eventually she was ready and he positioned himself over her, she stared at him and signaled to him with a tiny nod. He took her mouth in a violent kiss as he claimed her. 

Bulma felt a sharp pain rip through her. She was falling, quickly spinning out of control. She was about to crash into her chalice, shattering it. Suddenly she was pulled up sharply, her mind roughly embraced with the power of another. Then she was Vegeta, was beneath Vegeta, moving with Vegeta and everything began to fade into a swirling mist. There was something tugging at her, a question in the back of her mind that she couldn't focus on. 

_It's not quite right. It doesn't feel like a Blood's power…but it doesn't feel not like the strength of a jewel. There's something here, something important._ But the thought was gone. Her mind was ascending from the abyss and soon she was too caught up in the physical sensation to remember that there was something about the mind that had wrapped around her. Something like but not like: kin, but not kindred. 

As they began to reach their climax Bulma felt something brush her mind; something subtle at the edges of her thoughts that she couldn't quite focus on, something like the thought that had occurred to her deep in the abyss._ What? There was something. Such a small thing I hardly even noticed it. What…what is it? _ Suddenly her eyes flew open and she cried out in physical response. She realized what was happening the instant he spilled himself into her. 

_"Vegeta! Something's slipping past my inner barriers!"_

* * *

Really Long A/N: My first attempt at anything lemony. I'm sorry I suck so much at romance stories. Please, please, please, please don't shoot me if you don't like it. You people have no concept of how hard it is for me to try to type while I'm laughing that hard, but thanks for encouraging me to attempt writing a lemon. Oh yeah a couple of other things. My best friend has posted her first story on fanfiction.net today and I thought at least some of you might be interested in it. It's in the original section under the title Kissing Bloody Roses. A really cool vampire story, it's good now, but trust me on this it gets better (I should know, I edited it ^_^). I am also editing for Iceis, and she has a neat one that she's working on called Diamonds Over Water. Alright that's the last of my shameless plugs. Also I would like to apologize for not getting this chapter up sooner. I was at the college until after 4:00 and then we were filming for Drama so I didn't get home until 10:00 and I had to type up the writing that I had done in class so it took me longer than I liked to get this up. Sorry ~_~ 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Thanks for Reviews~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
Bunnie Gurl: LOL. Whatever you are on, you need to share. Thanks for the review, it made ag. _much_ more interesting ^_^.

nattie: Glad you liked it. I won't be doing the different perspective thing very much. It's just that I've never tried to that before either and I wanted to see if I could pull it off. Thanks for the review.

moonkitty: um, about the Virgin Night, she doesn't really come into her but power but it's really close. It allows her to make the Offering which allows her to come into power. Thanks for the advice about lemon writing however. BTW, if I decide to do an afterward behind the scenes or bloopers thing, which I sometimes write for my stories I'll keep your after-sex conversation in mind lol!

Black Panther: *flamboyant bow* Here's the next chapter. ^_~

manga: Yeah, Vegeta will be a wonderful Warlord Prince. I'm glad you are liking my story and hope you don't misplace it again. j/k Thanks for the review. I was very flattered that you would even consider to compare my writing style even remotely with Anne Bishop's. 

Kiarene: Of course you were right about the need for at least lime. Actually I had planned at least lime anyway, I just wasn't sure if I should keep it a relatively simple lime, you know that kiss,maybe some vague references and wake up in the morning, or a major detail thing. Thanks for your interest though, I appreciate your advice. I'm glad you enjoy it.

Mushi-azn: thanks for the review and the 'Try a lemon'. ^_~

Raksha: Hope you like this chapter I had to think about this one a little more than the others since I don't remember Anne Bishop ever describing what the mind was like for a woman who was about to shatter her chalice rather than tear through her webs. Unless you count Jaenelle, but she actually had her chalice already shattered when everyone else came in I think. Let me know if that sounded ok. Thanks for the encouragement.

Icia: Icia, Icia, Icia. You've read about half of the first chapter. And that was only because you were really bored in English. To anyone reading these thanks, she really is my friend and I really was sitting right next to her while she was writing her review and reprimanding her for writing one when she hadn't even finished more than half of the first chap. >_ 


	8. Chapter 8- The Witch

_**Disclaimer:**I do not own the characters of DBZ or the Dark Jewels. I don't own their clothing they wear, their shampoo brands, or- yeah I'm going to stop, that's starting to depress me. *pouts* _

Priceless Jewels  
Chapter 8-The Witch

As soon as the words left her mouth she felt a sharp sting in her neck where Vegeta's face was buried. Her nails dug into his back leaving deep scores as she cried out again, this time in shock. His teeth held her in place while his tongue assuaged the wound he had inflicted on her delicate skin, tasting the blood that flowed hot from her vein. _Midnight storms. Crashing waves. Rushing thunder._ He couldn't seem to get enough. 

He didn't see her eyes widen, darken with something untamed, something not quite human. He didn't hear that howling that rose from deep within the abyss, a howling song full of joy and pain, rage and celebration. A song of life, a song of dreams… a song of awakening. 

Her nails grew sharper, longer, the color of thick blood, claws extending from the sheaths. Her long pale, blue tail wrapped around Vegeta's waist; trapping him there. Her mane spilled across the pillow around her, no longer hair, but not quite fur. An Ebon-gray jewel hung from the small spiral horn rising from her forehead, with matching jewel chips falling from her delicately pointed ears. 

Vegeta finally raised himself, looking at the beautiful being beneath him in suprise, saw her stare at him with an untamed hunger burning in her predatory eyes. Her eyes flicked to his neck and her lips pulled back to expose her fangs. Her human hands that ended in claws tangled in the back of his hair and she yanked his head back, raising her body, and twisting him around until he was under her. She kept one hand fisted in his hair; let the other slide down until it cradled his neck. 

Vegeta stared at her, captivated. Her perfectly curved body was raised over him, her hips straddling his. The light from the window outlined her in a silvery moonlight, giving her an unearthly aura, perfectly suited to this new form of hers. As she looked down at him, pale silvery blue wings unfurled from her back, the membranous leather seeming paper-thin in the backwash of the natural light. She was wonderful, beautiful, terrifying. And she was his; he had just made her so. 

She leaned forward, tightening her grip in his hair and pulled his head back. She leaned forward, her breasts brushing against his chest as she looked into her male's eyes. 

"You are _mine_ now," and with those words she sank her teeth into his throat, marking him as surely as he had marked her mere minutes before. As she raised her head, licking the redness from her lips and brushing one finger over the marks on his neck, sealing them closed, and doing the same to the small puncture in her own neck. She wiped the line of blood that had trailed down her throat but before she could decide what to wipe it on Vegeta took her hand, licking the blood from her fingers. She seemed to notice her hands for the first time and she stared at her fingers for a minute before quickly taking stock of all of her physical changes. 

"I look different from Jaenelle. The dream has definitely changed in the past few centuries," then her sapphire eyes pinned him. Her voice changed, became midnight thunder. "It was you. You were what I felt slipping through my inner barriers… but not you. What was that?" 

"I bonded with you." 

"You… what is bonded?" she asked him, her eyes narrowing thoughtfully. 

"Bonding is what occurs when a saiyan finds their mate. I don't know how to stop it or I would never have let it happen, but since it did happen I took you as my mate. Just as you marked me as your mate when you bit me in return." 

"Oh. Among the Blood an exchange of blood, well it can mean different things. From the wrist it means lifelong service, given or received. Taken from the throat of a witch it means offering and acceptance as a lifelong consort. It's as final and frequently more binding than marriage." 

"You know, maybe now would be a good time to figure out just where to start with all those things that you couldn't even begin to explain to me earlier. In fact a wonderful place to start would be right here, Woman." He held up her hand, and the tips of her sheathed claws glinted in the moonlight. Bulma opened her mouth to respond when the sound of shattering glass and a piercing scream broke the night stillness, causing her to clutch her ears, doubling over to gasp in pain.   


* * *

A/N: Okay, here's another chapter and I know it's short, but I decided that would be a perfect spot to end it. Alright, now all of you know what'll happen to Yamcha if he does anything stupid, so does anyone out there have any really strong moral objections to me making him suffer? Also don't forget to check out Kissing Bloody Roses okay? I know, I'm a shameless friend promoter, but you guys are going to regret it, if only because you will never know the Martyness of this story, and the TRUTH about the girlscouts!!!! MWAHAHAHA! Also I would like to take a minute to thank everyone who has reviewed. It helps me know what all I need to cover in my stories, so a great big general THANKS to all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Thanks for Reviews~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
Kappie: Thanks for reviewing. I'm sorry it wasn't the bad guy, he was busy doing other wicked, bad, naughty things that deserved a spanking at the time so I had to have Vegeta be the perpetrator there. Thanks for saying you liked it so much.

Roya: Ok. Lol. ^_^ Glad you like it.

nattie: Why, thank yee! Feel free to visit anytime you like.

Tigerwolf: Thanks x2. Was this soon enough for the rituals and stuff? That's about as ritualistic as it's going to get for now so I hope you weren't expecting more, and no Vegeta doesn't know... yet. I can see slight mystery and funny at points. But cute? @_@ Am I doing something wrong? *shakes head in confusion* At any rate, I'm happy you are enjoying it so far.

moonkitty: Sorry 'bout the cliffie, but I can't seem to resist. I think I have a subconscious fear that no one will come back if I don't leave them hanging, lol. Although this one isn't much of a cliffhanger.>.< P> Silverstar: All _will_ be revealed in due time. thanks for all three reviews. People liking my baby makes me happy ^_^.

Black panther: Yes as a matter of fact I can put up another chapter. Even shorter than usual though, please don't kill me.

saiyangirl16: Um, ok. Here's the update. Thanks, I like the 'great' in your review. ^_~

manga: As Gher would say, "Then I did good?". Please keep reviewing. Thanks, lol. 

IneiTenhsi: I'm sorry it didn't quite fall into the lemon category. But it seemed a bit much to be called lime, so why don't we just say lemonaide k? I wish I hadn't deleted the first version I did of this part. If I hadn't I would send it to you and then you'd realize why I didn't try for more detail. *sweatdrop* When I read the other one I nearly fell off my bed lmao. Thanks as always.

Raksha:I didn't remember there being any descriptions of what it was like, but all of my Anne Bishop books have been leant out, so I couldn't verify. Um, about why Bulma had the black, well I'm kind of operating under the theory that she's a descendent of not only Jaenelle, but Daemon and Saetan as well. You have to figure that with that kind of blood line, the potential for power would remain strong especially if her descendents recognized the power in others. I mean check out who Bulma hangs out with. Beyond that, Bulma has to have a strong potential for power, after all the presence in the abyss scared _Jaenelle_ and she had an entire set of the lighter jewels and I think it was 13 black jewels when she was like 7. Did that make sense? If not, it's going to be covered again in the story later anyways so maybe I can make a clearer description for it then. Thanks for reviewing, it helps me think. 


	9. Chapter 9- The Loss

_**Disclaimer:**I do not own the characters of DBZ or the Dark Jewels. *sings off key * 'Cause I'm a lumberjack and I'm ok! *stops* Just kidding. Don't sue me. _

A/N: Guess I should have mentioned this sooner, or again, or whatever. Words _Italicized_ are thoughts while words surrounded by ** are thoughts sent on a psychic communication thread. Thanks to manga for pointing out the mistake I made in spelling Black Widow Priestess. I rarely go back and actually read my work directly after I finish it so most mistakes go unnoticed. Sorry for that.~_~ 

Priceless Jewels  
Chapter 9-The Loss

*Chichi! 18! * Bulma flung the thought out as soon as the pain passed, not noticing the expressions that passed over Vegeta's watching face. She waited tensely until their responses came. 

*Whassamatter? * ChiChi's sleepy thought projected itself back at her. 

*Bulma, what's wrong? You never use your powers if you can avoid it. * 18's mental voice was instantly alert. 

*Did you feel that? Jaenelle's spirit was destroyed. I want you the two of you to get the guys together and get everyone ready to travel through the gates to Kaeleer. Tomorrow. * 

*Witch is dead?! …I understand. I'll get everything packed tonight so that I won't have to worry about rushing Goku and Gohan tomorrow. I think we'll bring Piccolo as well. * ChiChi spoke grimly, no longer asleep. 

*Krillin and I'll be there in the morning. * 18 assured her softly. They both sent a feel of comfort back to their new Queen, who accepted their sympathy quietly before dissolving the contact. 

She looked at Vegeta who raised a brow and asked her, "What was that all about?" 

"You heard that?" Bulma asked him in a tired voice. 

"Yes." 

"And the scream?" 

He nodded, not quite able to keep the concern he felt for her from his face. 

"A curious thing this bond of yours. All of the Blood remaining should have been able to sense her passing, but I was probably the only one, who heard her, felt her last minutes. He didn't kill the last dreamer, he destroyed the dream itself," she shuddered, tears filling her eyes. 

"ChiChi and 18?" 

"I told them to get the guys and get them ready to travel through the gates because with Jaenelle's powers no longer there, the webs she maintained will be fading, leaving Kaeleer open to rediscovery. We'll have to move fast to keep that from happening. But tomorrow is the soonest we can leave." She settled down against his side, carefully folding her wings, drawing comfort from the feel of his strong body, unable to stop the tear sliding down her cheek. It felt like fire where it landed against Vegeta's shoulder. 

"Kaeleer?" he asked quickly, hoping to distract her for a bit. 

"Mmm, Earth used to be broken up into three territories; Terreille, Kaeleer, and Hell. After the war between Kaeleer and Terreille, even after the purging of the taint, many of the Kaeleer Blood didn't trust Terreillians, so they did the same thing they after the last war, closed their borders completely from the people of Terreille. Of course all of the corrupted Blood were destroyed when Witch unleashed her full power across the lands, but they were still afraid. Some of the people of Kaeleer were willing to help the people of Terreille rebuild, but most of them wanted nothing more than to be left alone by them. The Blood of Terreille, those that remained alive wanted to learn how to be Blood, Blood as it was meant to be. So those that were welcomed moved to Kaeleer. There weren't that many Blood remaining there after the purging and so the landens inherited Terreille." 

"Yes, but what happened to these Blood people? You mentioned earlier that you were one. And what are landens?" Vegeta questioned, his curiosity getting the better of him. 

"Well, landens are the non jeweled Blood, the normal people that occupy the Earth, if you will. They pretty much took over what was Terreille and they inhabit the larger portion of the world. But we keep them safe, in spite of themselves. As to the Blood, they mostly returned to Kaeleer. As I said, they had closed their borders against the rest of the world; the tangled webs that Jaenelle created to keep Kaeleer's presence from being detected reinforced the natural barriers to entry. The only way to safely enter Kaeleer is through the gates, and you can't do that without a Black Widow priestess. She can't do that without a mark of safe passage showing that you have permission from a Queen to travel between the lands," the last words came out a yawn, and she buried her head against his shoulder, mumbling an indistinct apology when she felt her horn poke something warm and yielding. 

"Don't worry, I'll live," Vegeta murmured dryly. "Now why are we meeting with the others? Are they the only ones with these marks of safe passage? Woman? Bulma?" He glanced down to see her perfect profile outlined against his slightly darker skin. She was asleep, the path of nearly dry tears glimmering softly in the light from the window. He sighed, and pulled the blanket up around them, careful not to impale himself on her horn. 

  


** ~Across Town~**

He couldn't, wouldn't believe her._ It had to be some weird trick, pulled off with mirrors and stuff or something. Come on, she's a genius. You know she's more than capable of pulling off something that would make you think she's telling the truth. But do I really want to risk it?_ He took a swig of the José he had been drinking. _No way._ He looked up when a shadow fell across his light. His eyes trailed up the slender female figure before him, taking in her unnaturally large bust and up into the gorgeous face of the blue eyed, blonde haired angel smiling down at him. _Then again…_

  


**~A small house in the mountains~**

She quickly rummaged through the chest that she hadn't even opened since before Gohan was born. _Craft books, I hadn't realized I missed them. Dried herbs._ She wrinkled her nose. _Those can go, thank you very much. And…here they are, safe and sound as ever._ She pulled a Red-jeweled ring from the pouch she had finally found tucked in the corner of the old cedar chest. Then she pulled out the pendant, a matching yellow gold tipped in white gold, in a jagged edged mountain design that encased the Gray jewel. She smiled slightly, laying her jewels on top of her very first and still favorite black spider silk dress. The jewels glinted softly from the small ball of witch light. She wrapped the cloak she had laid everything on around the dress, books and stones, making a small bundle that she vanished. 

She glanced around; making sure that there was nothing else that she would need._ No. I have everything I need from in here. I better go start to make breakfast though, we'll have to leave early to meet the others on time. _She let the ball of witch light fade and slipped out of the small room that she insisted on having added onto the house when they had first moved in. She'd never explained why, but she knew that wasn't going to last much longer. All of the males were going to get snarly over the fact that they had never told them before. She sighed, hoping that Bulma had found someone and would be able to make the Offering once they returned to Kaeleer. If not it would have to be soon. 

** ~Kame House~**

She was outside. The nights were so much prettier here._ Much prettier here than in that gilded cage. _She glanced up to see a star shooting by. How was he going to take it? Would he resent the change in lifestyle this was going to demand? Would he leave her because of this? _Kami, no!_ No he would understand. He would. But…just in case, she'd like to pretend, just for a little while that they were a normal couple. Or as normal a couple as a trained monk and android could be. 

She turned and went back into the house, watching him as he slept. He was so peaceful when he slept. She sat down next to the bed and watched him. She would tell him. Soon. But just in case, for now she would pretend that everything was going to be the same when the morning had passed. Everything Krillin would need was packed, as well as her own belongings. Everything except the Sapphire stone that was attached to the choker chain at her throat, and the Ebon Gray jewel that was embedded in the silver bracelet clasped abut her wrist. 

  


** ~The Abyss~**

Hard yellow eyes coldly watched the preparations of the three strongest females on Earth with amusement. They thought they could stand a chance against him: them and their weakling mates. He laughed softly. He turned away, looking at the giant web that had been fashioned so diligently, so carefully. Almost all the threads were in place. It didn't matter what those pathetic fools did, nothing could prevent him from having the newest little Witch. _Everything has a price, and I'll see that they_ all_ pay!_ With that thought he strode away, not noticing the crunch under his booted feet. As he faded into the mists a pale light refracted from the crystal shards that lay shattered on the ground. The shards that had once been Jaenelle's mind… Jaenelle's power. 

* * *

  
A/N: Please don't hate me for doing that to poor Jaenelle. I really like her, but it was important for plot line. If it's any consolation her body has been dead for centuries. Sorry. ~_~ Slowly getting around to answering your wonderful questions so I hope this covered some of that, if not it created the openings I'll use later. Kissing Bloody Roses is still getting updated so you might check Icia's work out. Hm, I think that's it this time.

  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Thanks for Reviews~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
bura400:They haven't made a movie about this as far as I know. If they have PLEASE TELL ME! lol, I'm glad you liked my Vegeta. I was trying to do seductive while keeping him in character. _Very_ difficult with that man. I'm still not positive I quite pulled it off. *shrugs* Glad you liked the tangled web for Yamcha. If you didn't figure this out with the hint I dropped in this chapter, it actually is a bit worse than what Bulma admitted to Vegeta. *wicked grin*

Raksha: I think you're right about Yamcha, especially if a person willingly reads a V/B fic. I'll get into Bulma being Witch thing in the next chapter or so, so hopefully you're questions will be answered then. Thanks for your reviews, as always. The Darkness embrace you.

saiyangirl16: I'm glad you love my story. I hope I do it justice. 

moonkitty: Graci` ^_^ (I am sooo white, can you tell?)

Black Panther: I get it, it's another one of thse, you can't kill me cause then you won't know what happens next things right? ^_^ Um, ok! I plan on having fun with this, thanks.Lol

IneiTenshi: I'm glad you approve of my labeling, lol. Thanks.

kapies: Thanks for the review. I was going to go with like angel wings till I realized I'd never heard of any race that had feather wings so I just stuck blue Eyrien wings on her. Glad you liked it though. I was kinda partial to the tail though cause that put her more on Vegeta's level. ^_^

DragonLady: Blessings. I'm glad you approve of it. 

DBZBeauty: Um, did this chapter answer your question? 

Bunni Girl: I wouldn't get too worried...yet. lol, thanks for your reviews.

nattie: Yay! Another convert! Just wait, you'll love them. Anne Bishop writes way cooler than anything I can come up with. I'm glad my efforts have caught your interest in this series, it's worth it. 


	10. Chapter 10- The Gathering

_**Disclaimer:** I wish I owned DBZ and/or the Dark Jewels. However that wish has been denied by the great dragon. And they say those balls will grant you anything. *sigh* _

Priceless Jewels  
Chapter 10-The Gathering

Vegeta was already sitting at the table when Bulma came downstairs. She had been disappointed to find herself alone in bed; right up until she remembered whom she had expected to find upon waking up. The glaring man seated at the table looked as if he had already been training that morning. _If only he would just go Super so we could all have a little rest for a change._

"I heard that! And where's my breakfast Woman?" the angry prince demanded. Bulma stared at him for a minute before baring her teeth in a smile. 

"Uncooked. _I'm_ going to pack some of my stuff and then I have to get the GR ready to capsulate so that a certain someone doesn't get bitchier than usual while when he's in Kaeleer. _ You_ can either order something on this nifty little device called a phone or fix something for yourself, but either way _we_ are leaving in an hour. Now get packed!" She stalked out leaving the saiyan prince sputtering angrily in her wake. 

Bulma walked into her lab and started to sort through her stuff. She capsulated half of her technical equipment, including her laptop, before going to the tiny room that none of her lab assistants had ever been into, or even seemed to have noticed before. As she was in there she started to gather all of her old equipment: fresh herbs, frames for the tangled webs and healing webs, small vials filled with various colored substances. _These should come in handy later._ After gathering all of the frames and samples she needed she vanished all of it, sending it to the place that she had learned to think of as her own invisible cupboard, that only she could get into and that was maintained by a small flow of her power. 

She smiled at the thought. That was how her grandfather had convinced her to think of it when she had balked at learning to use her powers, her wonderful warm grandfather. She'd heard stories that once, long ago he had been very cold before he had moved to Kaeleer but she just couldn't see it. All she could see whenever she thought of him was that gorgeous sculpted face, the loving gold eyes that were the color of melted butter, eyes framed by thick black hair she had loved to touch as a child. The gentle slim fingered hands with the long tinted black nails that had always seemed to be there to pick her up whenever she had fallen down. Grandpa Daemon was so sophisticated, totally different from Uncle Lucivar. 

_Lucivar._ She smiled in memory._ Arrogant, prickly Uncle Lucivar._ She thought of his lazy arrogant smile when he told you that you were going to do something whether you wanted to or not. The same irritating smile he had been wearing the day he had forced her reluctant small fingers around an Eyrien fighting stick. She had loved playing with his hair too when she was younger. He had defiantly long black hair and he'd snap his bat like wings in annoyance at her when she tried to float up and grab it. 

_I got so much from them, all of them._ Khardeen, with his curly reddish hair and bright blue eyes, shared with her his love of horses made her learn to ride, learn how to communicate with even non-Blood animals. And Chaosti. The pale silvery haired and pale blue-eyed warlord prince had taught her how to use a knife._ That reminds me._ She summoned the Dea al Mon hunting knife from her 'cabinet' and slid it out of the sheath, checking the edges carefully to make sure that it was as sharp as it was meant to be. Not much different from the stiletto Surreal had given her for her twelfth birthday. _And Surreal had quietly taken me aside and taught me how to be an effective assassin if my life in Terreille demanded that I be able to take care of myself, and that little talk she sat down and gave me about sex when I only a couple of years older than that. Boy, that was an eye opener. And Karla with her wicked sense of humor had always been there to cheer me up. I miss them all so much._

Bulma, smiling at the bittersweet memories, didn't notice the tears that welled up in her eyes as she thought of each of her friends. Friends that she could never see again, because they had all returned to the Darkness. They were all gone, beyond her reach; just like Jaenelle. _Whoever did this is going to learn that everything has a price, and the one I demand is high._ She slammed the knife back home, comfortable enough with the knife not to watch her hands as she did so. A dangerous look entered her eyes, a look that would have left anyone seeing it cold, bitterly cold. 

Vegeta stood outside of the small room, his arms braced against the frame of the door as he felt the pain that cut away at her heart, saw the images of all the people she had loved and had lost to the still unknown enemy force, felt the slowly building rage that tore at her self control, wanted to strike out with all of the force of her suffering. The saiyan felt a white-hot anger begin to burn in his stomach, matching that of his mate's. His breathing deepened. Everything was held in the balance, the war drum that sounded the beats of his heart was loud in his ears. And time slowed as an instant grew into eternity, an eternity in which anything moving would have died. 

He slowly pulled away from the edge when Bulma suddenly opened the door, quickly stepping back before she could run into him. He saw her eyes stare at him. Not with fear but with fascination. He didn't understand the thoughtful look that entered her eyes, didn't know why she looked so intensely at him, as if she could see into his very soul. Which with the bond he knew she could, at least once she learned how to at any rate. He realized what she had been staring about when she reached out a hand and cupped a flame of yellow energy that had entered his ki when he had unknowingly began to power up. A small black dome appeared, capturing the energy, holding it there rather than allowing it to distinguish when he slipped completely from the inner edge he had just been riding on. 

"Looks like you almost went super Vegeta," she observed. "Would you mind if I keep this? There's something bothering me and I think this might be part of the answer." She stared at the small flicker held prisoner in the energy she had produced. Vegeta watched his ki dancing less than an inch from her palm. 

"Take it then Woman. I came to check on you since you were so adamant that we leave in an hour. You're late by the way," he grumbled at her as if he was annoyed, but he was watching her closely. She had managed to hide her grief quickly, but he felt it, muted as if it was hidden behind a wall, but it was there. His next thought brought him a surprising rush of pride._ She's strong, my mate._

"Oh, you have everything you'll need packed already? Where is it at?" 

"Outside Woman, now hurry before we're any later than we already are. Besides I still have some questions that you're going to answer." 

"Oh yeah, like?" she asked him absently staring at the tiny ball she held. 

"Like why you've never used the powers you obviously have? Do the others have one of those marks of safe passage and is that why we need them? What happened to you last night? There's more to the Terreille and Kaeleer story also isn't there? Who is the danger to you? Why do you need to go back to this Kaeleer place so quickly? Why-?" his question was cut off when Bulma waved a hand and grumbled, "Alright, all right already. I get the point. I'll go ahead and give you the quick version. We'll need to stop somewhere and get you something to eat on the way anyway. Let's go." They walked out of the house as Bulma continued the explanation that had been cut short the night before. 

**~The Altar~**

"Um, 18? Why are we here?" 

"Because Bulma needs us and we are going to be here for her, aren't we love?" her voice took on an edge as she answered the same question she had been asked five minutes ago_…and five minutes before that…and on the flight… and when she had roused him from bed before usual…_

"Well yeah of course." Krillin was quiet for a moment looking around at the heavy dark stone temple that stood towering over them. "But why does Bulma need to meet us in such a spooky place when she can talk to you on the phone from anyplace?" 

"Listen Krillin, this is important. There are some things you guys don't know about us, and you're going to be a bit surprised when you do. You might even-" she cut herself off abruptly, "but it's necessary so now we're here okay?" 

"What? I might even what?" Krillin asked his gorgeous blonde wife. She looked at him sadly and walked away to sit down on a rock staring pensively at the building herself now. Krillin was upset to see his wife looking so withdrawn so he cast about for a subject to distract them. He noticed the bracelet she was wearing and he realized that aside from the simple wedding ring he had given her she never wore jewelry. 

"Hey, that's a pretty bracelet honey. Where'd you get it?" 

"It's been mine since I was 17. Think of it as a part of me I don't bring out very often," she replied quietly, lightly toughing the dark stone. 

Before Krillin could think of a way to respond to the strange mix of sadness and pleasure in her voice he sensed some really powerful ki approaching. _Goku, Piccolo, and Gohan._ He squinted at the sky. _Hm, looks like ChiChi too. Well the gang's just about all here. Wonder where Bulma and Yamcha and Vegeta are?_

When the others landed they all greeted each other, the women watched their exchange withdrawing slightly so that they stood somewhat separate from the group of males. ChiChi saw Krillin's concern for his wife in his eyes and his frustration at being unable to do anything about it. 

*You haven't told him. * 

*You've told Goku? He's taking it very well I must say. Of course he's a simple man, he might not understand the potential complications that might result from this. * 

*Actually… * 

*I see. ChiChi, we need to tell them. If Bulma arrives and they don't know what's going on she'll have to tell them herself. She doesn't need the strain of dealing with distressed males. She's just lost her grandmother. * 

*You're right 18. Of course you're right. But I wanted… * 

*I know. * 

ChiChi cleared her throat, wincing when 4 sets of male eyes swiveled to her.

* * *

A/N: Sorry if this chapter is a little slow. I'm setting the groundwork for the upcoming action, and the next couple of chapters are going to be used mainly to establish everything you guys'll need to be aware of. If you have any questtions let me know and I'll try to clarify the answer in the story for you. Kissing Bloody Roses is still getting updated, as frequently as mine is, since that's what we've been using sixth period for. ^_^ Also, I have another story I've written. It'd be in the original section, but does anyone think I should post it or should I just finish this one first? If I post it, this one will get updated less frequently, but my other story is good too. *shrugs* Let's take a vote! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Thanks for Reviews~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
Empress Sarah-sama: Um, that's a good thing right? Thanks for reviewing.

nattie: I'm sorry your brain is fried, I hope it gets better.Lol, Thanks for reviewing.

kappies: I'm sorry it upset you that I had to kill Jaenelle. If it will help you feel better a)Jaenelle had a full life until she died happily in the arms of Daemon b) the 'presence' is in for it now! But I'm glad you liked that part. I was going to leave it out, but I realized I wanted her to not be normal till she woke up the next day. Then i realized how uncomfortable sleeping with someone with a horn could be. @_# *ouch*lol

Roya: _If you beg you shall recieve._ ^_^ Hope you like this chapter. As I mentioned earlier it's a bit slow, but it'll be important later.

manga: Thanks for catching my typo. I don't know what I was thinking T_T. And thanks as always for your imput.

saiyangirl16: Yes, I've read the series and it was great! You should check them out too. I appreciate the reviewing.

Kiarener: Sorry if it seems confusing. Reading the trilogy would help, but probably not much, except for the references to people in this chapter. So you should just read the series anyway just cause it's good. ^_^

Raksha: I'm glad you liked it. And no Yamcha will not find solace in the source of his downfa... I mean, alcohol and women for very long. I'm glad you like Kissing Bloody Roses. You want to check that one like everyday. Unlike this story Icia's already has that one written out and she's just breaking it into chapters for posting. Therefore it bears as close if not closer watching than this fic does. The Darkness embrace you as always dark sister. 


	11. Chapter 11- The Discovery

_**Disclaimer:** I wish I owned DBZ and/or the Dark Jewels. Misfortunately we cannot always have what we wish for can we? *sobs * _

Priceless Jewels  
Chapter 10-The Discovery

ChiChi looked back at the guys, as she tried to figure out where to begin. She glanced quickly at 18 who gave a little shrug. She looked back at the guys again and smiled brightly, "Well I guess since most of us are here that we should go ahead and start explaining a few things before Bulma gets here." 

"Good idea, let's start with why we all needed to be here, out in the middle of nowhere." 

"Well, we're meeting here because this is an altar where we're going to have a priestess send us through a gate into Kaeleer." 

"Just be silent and let us explain," 18 demanded when it looked like Krillin was going to ask another question. She nodded at ChiChi, signaling to her to continue. 

"Alright, well first of all, we're not normal humans," she paused a second glancing at 18 who had raised an eyebrow in amusement. She corrected herself, "Have never been normal humans or androids, at all…ever. The reason that we've never been normal in the generalized sense of the word is because we are what is not really known as Blood since all Terrillian records of us have been destroyed." 

"Bulma's coming soon, hurry it up." 

"Would you like to do this 18?" ChiChi snapped peevishly. 

"Fine. We're witches from Kaeleer. We're among the only women who have a triple gift, but we'll get to that later. The point is we're here now because a few years ago, a couple before I was turned into an android as a matter of fact, an enemy presence entered the Abyss. All of the strongest Blood from the original First Circle descended into the Abyss to attack the intruder. None of them returned. That was how Gero captured my body, I had been killed trying to find what had happened to them, and my body was still fresh, still trying to make the transition to demon dead. Now the presence is after Bulma and we have to be there to protect her. Did I leave anything out Chi?" 

ChiChi's mouth was hanging open until she snapped it shut. She stared amazed at 18 for a minute before bursting out, "I can't believe you told them _that _like… well _that_! And yes you left a lot of stuff out! Like how about we happen to be able to create tangled webs that can rip a man's mind to shreds! Or maybe you were just going to blurt out that we both have a small snake tooth under our right ring finger with poison strong enough to kill a Super Saiyan. How about the fact that we're Queens and that going back to Kaeleer might mean that we have to establish a court depending on how things are there, and that establishing court there means never returning here! Maybe we should just add in that I happen to be the descendant of the Warlord Prince of Ebon Rih, or that your great, great some number or other Grandmother Karla was the Queen of Glacia. Ooh and here's a tasty tidbit Bulma happens to be the descendant of the High Lord of Hell and his Queen Jaenelle, Heart of Kaeleer, Queen of Darkness, The Living Myth, Dreams made Flesh, and Witch who was incidentally enough afraid of this presence in spite of the fact that she was the most powerful being in the entire world!!!!" 

*Smooth move ChiChi. * 

ChiChi slapped a hand over her mouth. *Oh SHIT! * 

"Well, now that you mention it yeah, what she said," 18 said turning away from the red faced ChiChi, toward the wide eyed males who had been staring at them since the beginning of their little discussion. "Besides, it's not like they can force us to establish court just because we've made the Offering. I'm certainly not," she added turning away from the still frozen males. ChiChi's eyes were still wide as she thought about what she had just revealed in her annoyance; she slowly turned to look at her husband who was staring at her bemusedly. 

" So you're a…queen? Wow, when did that happen ChiChi?" Goku asked her in his clueless, cheerful manner that showed he accepted everything that he was told. ChiChi wanted to weep. 

"Don't say that as if it's a good thing Goku. You don't know how drastically it would change everything if I was needed to establish a court, because that's the only way I would willingly do so. If I am forced to set up court it will be because things are very bad and I don't want Gohan… you or Gohan exposed to the dangers of court. It's just not safe, and you're way too trusting." 

"She's right. I'm not sure I would want even Krillin to be exposed to the danger if Kaeleer is that bad without the restraining influence of the First Circle. And he's much more clever then Goku. No offense, Goku," she continued when he waved it away adding his easy agreement to her statement, "It shouldn't be that bad but the occurrences within the abyss might be spilling over into what we perceive as reality and if it is, we'll have to set up court, which means probably never returning to Terreille." 

"Terreille?" the small boy asked, frowning up at the adults. 

"Listen well Gohan. Many years ago, more years than most are capable of living the Earth was broken into three territories. After the war between Witch and Terreille all of the tainted Blood were dead and Terreille was left to the lindens to care for. We're in Terreille right now. All of the known countries on this planet are Terreillian lands because the other territories are so well protected that no one from these places even remembers them and the tangled webs surrounding them ensures that no one will ever stumble across them by accident, this is because Kaeleer totally closed it's borders. Does that make sense?" 

"Uh huh," the little boy nodded to show that he had understood his mother. 

"You say you have all these powers," Piccolo stated from where he stood floating, "so why haven't you ever used them before?" 

"Because we're in Terreille," 18 stated calmly. 

"Wait, what's that got to do with it? Piccolo's right on that, I mean when Freeza came along we could've used some of that stuff you said you could do ChiChi," Krillin frowned, his gaze shifting between his wife and her friend as something silent passed between them. 

"We aren't supposed to use our powers in Terreille," ChiChi admitted softly. "That was the price we paid for being able to have a chance at a normal life. We could live as we please here in return for not exposing the others. You have to understand, not all of the Blood were killed in Terreille and of those that remained living, not all of them returned to the Shadow Realm." 

"Since not all of the Blood left there is a number of half-bloods and quarter bloods existing around the world and without a lot of craft users our powers stand out when we use them. We had to choose between two parts of ourselves, and we chose you," 18 added softly looking at her husband as she spoke, willing him to understand. 

"Hey, why can't you use your powers? I mean I don't get it, what's the big deal?" Goku asked, frowning, confused again. 

ChiChi smiled at him, thinking it was so cute that he expected everything to be fair for everyone. "Because our using our powers with all of the half bloods and such running around the world would be like shouting in a quiet room. And if they can hear it then they're going to try to find it. If they try to find it then they'll eventually stumble across either the gates or us. Either way," she shrugged, "the result is undesirable." 

"If they find a gate then there's the chance that they might actually light the candles in the proper sequence. If they find us, our lives would be no better than they would be if we had stayed in Kaeleer. Beyond that, do you really want a bunch of ghost hunters banging on your door in the middle of the night, or spying on us when we're training Krillin? It would attract attention to all of you, especially to Vegeta, Goku, and Piccolo, which is why we decided it would be easier to give up using our powers than risking exposing all of you." 

"Um, okay, I can see that, but what about the jewels? I mean, you don't wear jewelry 18," Krillin stated, changing the subject as his mind tried to absorb the impact of what he had just learned. 

"Think of the jewels as a focus for the power that we potentially have. When we have the birthright ceremony then we learn our basic power potential, then we make the Offering and we achieve our full adult strength," a familiar _midnight_ voice cut in from nowhere. The air began to shimmer and then parted. Reality returned to its normal state and Bulma smiled at her friends, while Vegeta grumped quietly to himself. Bulma ignored him. 

"There are 13 jewel ranks achievable by most people, and two that only Witch has ever achieved. The lighter the jewel the weaker the powers. You know, from White to Yellow, Yellow to Tiger Eye, Tiger Eye to Rose, Rose to Summer-sky, from Summer-sky to Purple Dusk, and from Purple Dusk to Opal, which is the dividing jewel between light and dark. So it descends in strength from White to Black. Beyond Black there is only Ebony and Twilight's Dawn, and only one Witch, my grandmother Jaenelle, has only achieved Twilight's Dawn. She was murdered last night by the enemy within the abyss." 

There were exclamations and quiet offerings of sympathy from all of the males, while the females extended comfort through a communication thread, which Bulma gratefully accepted. She slowly smiled again, holding her tears back. Everyone was surprised when even Vegeta offered her silent sympathy by rubbing a hand quietly along her back before stepping away and glaring stiffly at everyone else. Goku shot a look at ChiChi. _When did this happen?_ She shook her head, sending him the thought through their bond, _Later._

"We need to hurry up and leave for Kaeleer so that I can make my Offering. But before we leave… can I ask you two to do something for me?" she addressed the other women. When she received their agreement she held out her hand, a shielded flame of yellow energy appeared, spinning lazily above her palm. "Tell me what you sense when you search the strength of this." They looked at each other before they extended a probing thread of power that stopped at her shield. Bulma put a lighter shield around it, dissolving the darker one. Their powers slipped through the small dome, brushing against the flickering flame. 

18 drew her power back, drawing a sharp breath. ChiChi drew her power back a second later, quickly discovering what 18 had realized only seconds before. She extended her power once again to reassure herself that she wasn't mistaken. She looked at 18 before they both turned raised eyebrows toward Bulma. 

"Where'd you get this?" ChiChi asked. 

"Whose power is that?!" 18 demanded at the same time. 

"I wasn't mistaken was I? It really is there isn't it?" Bulma asked them uncertainly. 

18 spoke hesitantly, "Bulma this energy is strange, but if I was feeling it right with my jewel, it has the potential strength to be-" Just then a dark robed figure stepped from the shadowy stone building.

* * *

A/N: AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!! *ducks flying objects* Ha, you missed! I'm soooo sorry for ending this right there. Oh wait, no I'm not! But don't worry! I will make it up to all of you! Just wait, mwahahaha!!!! *rubs hands together gleefully*  
Kissing Bloody Roses(KBR) is still getting put up, so check it out, Oh yeah, I've decided to just finish this story first k? Also, I might not get a chapter up tomorrow cause we're having prom, how stupid is that? It's like a week before freaking graduation. #_#

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Thanks for Reviews~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
Silverstar: Yes eventually. There's a bit more to Veggie's thing, but the revelation will come later. As to my ability to frequently update, this is due to my total lack of anything resembling a life. Thanks for reviewing though!

Shadowfire: Uh, glad to be inspiring. ^_^ It pleases me that you like it. Which characetrs were you using for your X-Men fic cause Rogue and Gambit rock!(they're my favorite couple can you tell?)lol thanks for reviewing.

saiyangirl16: That's ok. I'll accept reviews on all chapters. In fact I think I'd accept multiple reviews on a single chapter...maybe not ^_^ thanks for reading though. I like frequent customers.

Asiolek: I am sooo sorry that you've never heard of Anne Bishop before. I tried to include some stuff about the jewels. I'll toss in more stuff about the rannkings later if that'll give you a clearer idea. Sorry, Bulma doesn't have a horn. Witch is human and other so she tends to revert back to her regular form when around others. Most people can't handle talking to a half naked human animal chick with enough power to rip a chunk out of the side of the planet. Hm, wonder why?

Daniela: As I explained to Silverstar I have no life, and no 6th period class since my course is finished at the college. *shrugs* Besides, people have been reviewing. If people didn't seem interested I wouldn't even have bothered. Thanks for reviewing, and I'm sorry they didn't get to see the new and improved Bulma. Poor things just aren't ready for it...yet. ^_^

nattie: I'm glad you approve my efforts. Thanks for reviewing as always.

Roya: Your welcome, welcome, welcome. I am planning on it, lol. 

IneiTenshi:Thanks x2, hope the explanations were interesting enough. Sorry, people were starting to look at me with an expression of 'Qui?' on their faces. Thought I should do some clarifying. thanks for reviewing though.

manga: Thanks for asking and yes if you beg, you too shall recieve. Guess what Veggie's going to learn next chapter? Yup, sorry it didn't come out this time I couldn't resist giving them a nudge to Kaeleer before they have to deal with their new discovery.

Raksha: Yes, as a matter of fact they will. In fact, a portion of them just were ^_^. But yes the others will as well. More discoveries are forthcoming. I wish I didn't have to spend so many chapters explaing the Jewels but if I don't the action later will make no sense ~_~. in the meantime, thanks for the faithful reviews and the Darkness embrace you as well sister. 


	12. Chapter 12- The Ranking

_**Disclaimer:** Sadly, I am in no way responsible for the creation of the characters (or anything else for that matter) of DBZ or the Dark Jewels Worlds. Please don't sue because you'd only get pocket lint. _

A/N: First off I would like to apologize for not getting this chapter out sooner, there was prom, then I had a major assignment due, and an induction ceremony that I didn't even find out about till like Sunday I think it was. However I hope the length of the chapter will make up for the wait. It's still kind of explaining things (sorry the action is coming later). Also the ending isn't a cliffhanger but there was a reason for that too. And by the way, yes everyone's getting a ranking, and NO VEGETA'S JEWEL RANK IS NOT GOING TO BE BLACK!!!!!!! 

Another A/N: Oh yeah, I guess this would be kind of important for those of you unfamiliar with the jewel rankings. It works like this, after the birthright ceremony the person has their birthright jewel, from there they can descend only 3 jewel rankings during their Offering (traditionally speaking ^_^, there are of course exceptions, *cough*fanfic characters *cough *). At any rate here is a list of the jewels so you can be even more confused than ever.   
White   
Yellow  
Tiger's Eye  
Rose  
Summer-sky  
Purple Dusk  
Opal _(which is the dividing jewel between light and dark jewels)_  
Green  
Sapphire  
Red  
Gray  
Ebon-gray  
Black  
So all that descending stuff means is that if a person has say an Opal jewel they could only get a Red jewel beyond that. They might get a green or sapphire, or stay the same rank but they can't go past red. Okay? Okay. _Now back to our regularly scheduled story…_   


Priceless Jewels  
Chapter 12-The Ranking

The woman glided toward them with her hands folded in the sleeves of her robe. As she approached she removed her pale hands with her long black fingernails and pushed the hood back to reveal a slightly older woman with lustrous red hair and emerald green eyes. 

"Do you seek Answers or Assistance?" 

"Assistance, Cassandra." Bulma turned her attention away from the ball in her hand. "I would ask for safe passage for all of my companions into Kaeleer." 

"There is a price, and while I can grant you my assistance and to the other witches, perhaps the boy since I detect potential for success with a Birthright ceremony, I cannot allow non-Bloods to trespass into Kaeleer, even on the word of Queen. Especially one who has not established court." 

"And if I were to explain that they were husbands and consorts?" 18 asked softly, dangerously, drawing her self up to look at the older witch through narrowed eyes. 

The strange woman known as Cassandra merely curled her lips slightly as if amused by the audacity of the younger woman. "Not even then. They are not Blood and they shall not pass." 

"You have no right to make that decision. Only Jaenelle has the power to decide that," ChiChi informed her coldly in a voice that wasn't her normal voice, her Queen voice. The males, uneasy at seeing this new side to the ladies, shifted uncomfortably as the air began to cool. 

"Yes, and Jaenelle is dead. You can't expect me to invite total strangers into Kaeleer on the grounds that_ you_ think they are safe!" 

"Cassandra." The robed woman caught the globe before it struck her in the face. 

"What's this Bulma?" she asked, glaring at the young aqua haired woman. 

"Probe it, Priestess. I think you'll find the results quite interesting." The frowning woman complied, sending a cautious probe of power through the shield. Her eyes widened slowly as she realized just what it was about the flickering flame that Bulma wanted her to sense. The yellow began to slowly dim as she held it, starting to finally fail in spite of the shield. The arrogant look in her eyes gradually drained, replaced by a growing fear. 

"Where did you get this? This is a male's strength!" 

"Hm. Yes, so it is. Now tell me Cassandra, were you really planning on defying me in this?" Bulma asked in her frozen midnight voice as the air around them began to chill. The older witch dropped her hands to the side as she studied all of the males more carefully. When she finally spoke it was cautiously. 

"I'll have to register them, their present strength and potential jewel strength before they can be permitted into Kaeleer. And there's still the matter of the price for my Assistance." 

"Name the price, Sister," Bulma stated formally, in a manner that clearly said to be careful in choosing in spite of the courtesy with which the words were spoken. Cassandra licked her lips, eyeing the young queen before her nervously, hungrily. 

"You plan to have children?" At Bulma's slow nod she named the price she had desired for years. 

"I would train it, boy or girl, with no interference. In return you can take the whole of the Terreillian country you call Japan for all I care." She held her breath, as Bulma stood before her, unmoving, showing no outward sign of how she was reacting to the demand made by the older witch. 

"Name another price," the reply was flat and unfriendly when it came, with a venomous undercurrent that shocked everyone listening, with the sole exception of Vegeta who had sensed Bulma's growing anger, although he couldn't determine the source. 

"You refuse the price of Assistance?" 

"You refuse a reasonable price to a Queen?" This caught even Vegeta's attention. 

"Bulma I would never mistreat a child of yours. I could keep it safe, and-" 

"Name another price." 

Cassandra drew a sharp breath, "Why do you refuse me? I have never been anything but kind to you! You know you can trust me to give proper training to any child you have!" Ice appeared in a ring around the feet of Bulma. 

"I refuse you because I don't trust you. I have made my choice, Cassandra, I will not be your puppet nor allow you access to anything that would give you even an illusion of control over me. And no you could not train any child I have properly. I have chosen my mate and even if you remotely had the capacity to deal with any child of _mine_ then you have obviously not taken anything _he_ brings to our match into consideration. Not only are you being manipulative in your desire to shape the strength of an unborn life in your image, but by ignoring my consort with your offer you insult him as well," The quiet words were offered with all of the warmth of the winter winds that traveled between the peaks of the KaeAskavi Mountains. 

Cassandra slowly bowed her head, acknowledging the truth of her words. She held out her hands palms up and wrists exposed to show her submission to a stronger Black Widow. Then the red haired witch looked directly at Vegeta, through him, and spoke stiffly as if the words left a sour taste in her mouth, "I am sorry. I did not mean to ignore the right you would have your say in the life of any child you might have with Lady Bulma. I was but very hopeful that I would at last have the opportunity to train a child as talented as any that are likely to be born by Witch," she turned her attention back to Bulma, dismissing Vegeta as if he were nothing. He sensed another flash of anger from Bulma that matched the one he felt at the strange woman's treatment, although she quickly concealed it. "Another price then," the woman stated. 

"Name your price," Bulma repeated once again, although this time the warning was closer to the surface. 

"Fine. The spell for the shadow web as you make it, and 10,000 gold marks per person." ChiChi let out a noise like a kettle letting off steam and was about to say something short and to the point when Bulma raised her hand, a black flame of blue energy quickly flowed out from her palm and disappeared, leaving a large pouch with a card. She opened the leather pouch and placed the card inside before retying it and extending it to the older witch. Cassandra tucked the pouch into her sleeve and turned to quickly walk toward the altar. Bulma turned back toward the watching group. 

"_I can't believe you let her get away with that!_" ChiChi hissed in outrage. "80,000 gold marks! I can feed Goku for a decade on half of what that would give me with the Kaeleer to Terreille exchange rate!" 

"I'm sorry darling, but I'm in a bit of a rush at the moment. You _do_ recall that while anyone can travel anywhere through the gates _within_ the realms there is only a certain time of the day that people are allowed to pass through the gates _between_ the Realms don't you?" 

"Yes," ChiChi let the subject drop, although not before she gave a disgusted sigh that 18 echoed. 

"Good, now just give a minute while I take care of this so she can't renege on her part of the deal." 

"Um, what are you doing Bulma?" Krillin asked nervously when she held a hand over his heart and it began to glow white. She didn't answer as the color changed to yellow, slowly deepening to a darker yellow the color of a tiger's eyes, shifting into a pale rose color that was somehow darker, darkening into the color of a summer sky, becoming the purple of dusk before turning an opaque opal, slowly the color changed a final time to green darkening…darkening… freezing as the very edges began to take on a slight blue tinge. 

"Green. The very deepest a green's strength can go at the moment. He has a potential strength of red, the deepest end of the red as well, possibly gray but not quite I think. I could be wrong though, since it's harder to scale their powers on our level.18 remember that." The blonde woman nodded, looking at her husband as a smile began to hover around her mouth. 

"Whoa! Hold up! What's going on?!" Krillin burst out. 

"Hey he's right. Aren't you guys going to tell us what all this is about?" Goku added as Bulma walked up to Gohan and started to do the exact same thing. 

"What?" she asked absently, her eyes narrowing a she held her hand in position in front of his heart. 

"What's going on around here?" Goku prompted her. 

"Oh. Yes I suppose you are feeling a bit confused. Well… you know how when you first tried to get master Roshi to train you and he demanded that you go save the Sleeping Princess?" At Goku's nod Bulma continued. "If you hadn't been Blood you would have died." 

"WHAT?!" he demanded. 

"It's really simple you guys. I'm surprised I didn't figure it out before last night," she said blushing, although no one except Vegeta, ChiChi, and 18 understood the reason. "The thing is you guys are Blood, full Blood at that. However, because you weren't raised in Kaeleer your powers manifested themselves completely physically, which is unheard of in Kaeleer, but then we are also taught craft at an early age and we know about the jewels. When you guys gather your energy for one of your projectile attacks, it's not that different from us gathering our strength to cast a spell. You're strength registers differently because of the way it reveals itself, but if I were to probe your powers it would register as unlike, but like. Kin but not kindred if you will." 

"You mean I could've actually died when I went on that quest for Master Roshi?" 

"Goku! Pay attention!" ChiChi scolded him. 

"Sorry Chi," he rubbed a hand over the back of his hair, giving her his famous grin. 

"Okay Bulma, so what you're saying is that we're like you except our powers are different? But doesn't that make us not Blood?" 

"No, you're still Blood because your power is actually derived from the same source, it's just it sort of took a different avenue, if you will. Red, ChiChi. Potential for Black, I'm unsure of the range since it's still early in regards to his developing power." 

"Great! Thanks Bulma!" ChiChi exclaimed looking at her son with proudly shining eyes. 

"You're getting off track here," Piccolo observed from where he was still floating, "finish your explanation." 

"You're next so get down here. Now where was I?" 

"You were telling us why we were Blood instead of being something else," Gohan piped up helpfully. 

"Right. Well the point is, you gain the strength you would have gained by wearing jewels by training and evolving your skills and strength, unlike the traditional Blood who gain their full strength all at once and then spend years mastering their craft." 

"But that doesn't explain why you're testing the Namek or how you found all this out from my energy," Vegeta pointed out, glaring at her back. 

"Well, I don't exactly stand right next to you guys when you're shooting off energy attacks so I never thought to study it before. Last night I felt something…" she blushed again before quickly finishing, "so I decided that the next chance I got I would analyze your ki. Then this morning you were powering up and I thought to grab some of your power and when I did it confirmed a suspicion that I had. As to why I'm testing Piccolo it's because the dragons didn't just exist on Earth. A long time ago the Dragon Warlord Princes and their Queens existed all across the universe. That's why there are Blood all over the place because that's the origin of our power. The jewels that we receive that are indicative of our strength are actually dragon scales. Actually that's probably why you and Goku are Blood also since you weren't exactly raised in Kaeleer either buddy boy." 

Vegeta just grunted as he held an internal debate with himself about all of the reasons that he should and should not spank his blue haired woman. One of the reasons made him stop to consider something. _I wonder why she didn't stay in her other form?_ Bulma caught the thread of his thoughts and answered with a suggestive voice on a distaff to spear thread. 

*Ooohh, a spanking! A spanking! I'm going to hold you to that. As to my other form, let's not give them more than they can handle, love. Besides, I was rather thinking of keeping that just for you since you seem to like it so much. * She tossed a saucy look over her shoulder at him, turning away when he began to sputter in shock. 

"You had a sapphire strength, but you've already gained your full strength, Piccolo. Low range Ebon-Gray. Which leaves Goku. Come here Goku, I'm, really curious about what you're full strength is." She placed her hand over his heart and repeated the gesture she had used on all of the others. The light changed until it was a pale black then slowly darkened until it was completely black. 

Bulma stared in surprise. Then she yanked her hand away and tried again. The same thing happened again. "That's strange, I could've sworn…" she trailed off bestowing a frown on both him and Vegeta. 

"What's the matter Bulma?" ChiChi asked in concern. 

"Well, nothing it's just I could've sworn with the way they always come out that Goku would be high range at whatever jewel level he was at." 

"But?" 18 prompted. The others were watching her closely. 

"But he's only a midrange. I mean Black, which is unreal for a birthright jewel since Jaenelle and I are the only two Blood I've ever heard of to have one as a birthright, is impressive. I mean it's probably a result of his being a saiyan, but it's impressive. Still…" she trailed off again, this time her expression was bemused as her thoughts absorbed her. 

"Still what?!" ChiChi and Krillin demanded at the same time. Bulma, who had been lost in thought, huffed out an exasperated breath before responding. 

"But still, from the way they always interact I can't figure out why he always wins their matches when Vegeta's ki registered as pushing into the Ebony range." 

ChiChi fainted. 

* * *

  
A/N: As I was saying, this was a long chapter. And I even abstained from my usual cliffie because I promised manga that Vegeta's ranking would be revealed in this chapter, so that was for you since you were so patient ^_^. KBR is still getting updated and Iceis has some really good stories, the first chapter of The Difference Between Gods and Dorks is up. So that's just pretty darn cool. 

  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Thanks for Reviews~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
Daniela: Thanks for reviewing. The poor guys are going to remain in a state of shock for quite some time I'm afraid.

Shadowfire: Glad you liked it. I'm sorry Lucivar is dead too, he'd be alive if it weren't necessary for my plotline. I named my kitty after him. But look on the bright side, if you're dying from suspense then you can't die until the end of the story at least. ^_^

kapies: Thas' okay. Actually this is Cassandra, but not the Cassandra from the story since she died. I'll explain later, but I can't tell you anything else yet.

Roya; Sorry I didn't get the chapter out as soon as I had planned. I hope that I will now be able to get back to approximately my regular updating scehdule unless they bring up even more crap before the end of the week.

IneiTenshi: I hope this clarified that point for you. No Bulma isn't in her other form, that one is kind of special.

Empress Sarah-sama: I'm glad you like the plot so far, but this one's not a cliffy so if that's any consolation... Anyways, thanks for reviewing.

Silverstar: Thanks!! Glad you liked it. Don't worry, you will. lol

shingami's twin: Poor Gohan hasn't even figured out how he wants to react to all these revelations, lol! I'm glad you approve. That was kind of what I had in mind when I started this fic. 

Iceis: I was glad my explanation helped and that you liked the first chapter of my fic. Please keep writing as well.

saiyangirl16: um, okay! thanks, lol

Raksha: I'm sorry cliffhangers in the middle of something you want finished offend you. j/k Thanks for your reviews as always dark sister.

manga: Yes if you beg one more time I'll get to it ^_^. Sorry it took so long, you've been very patient, only asking for it every other chapter j/k, but I hope you liked it, lol! Did I scare you with my beginning author's note? Sorry, I was feeling playful. ^_^ 


	13. Chapter 13- The Arrival

_**Disclaimer:** For the not last time! I don't own DBZ or the Dark Jewels and there's nothing you can do to change it. Oh wait, that's a __bad_ thing! *smacks forehead* 

A/N: I don't remember ever having heard of anyone outside of Jaenelle's immediate family (and some people that were semi important to a part, but not really cause they usually died or got married or something) having a last name that was mentioned, so I just made up 18's last name in honor of the country that she doesn't want to be Queen of. 

Priceless Jewels  
Chapter 13-The Arrival

"Oh dear. Someone had better pick her up. We need to get going." 

"Ebony?" 18 said tightly. 

"What are you going off about Woman?" Vegeta said insultingly, earning a sharp glare from 18 before she ignored him to focus on Bulma. 

"Yeah, that's what I though too. It's rather weird that he hasn't beat Goku at all yet… then again, maybe it's not," the young queen added thoughtfully moving toward the dark stone building after making herding motions at everyone else. 

"Ebony, and he can't even beat Goku?" 18 asked flatly, unmoving. 

"18, Ebony isn't_ that_ much stronger than Black. Besides you're forgetting Vegeta's background as opposed to Goku's." 

_My background as opposed to his? And what's with all this queen stuff?_

*I'll explain later, Vegeta. * 

"No, Bulma you're forgetting something. A rather important something I might add. Gray is not a birthright stone, Ebon- gray is not a birthright stone, Black is definitely _not_ a birthright stone, and Ebony for a male is _right out_!" 18's voice rose with the most emotion any of them have ever heard from the blonde android. 

"Ok, we're obviously not going anywhere until I clarify some things very quickly. A, Vegeta is a prince; guess how many years of breeding went into making him. B, Goku was raised on Earth, which gives him a slight advantage in a certain sense. C, Saiyans come from a different part of the universe and no, Draca was not the most powerful dragon Queen there was, so what is normal for the Realms and what is normal for Vegeta-sai are obviously two different things. And d, we're going to_ need_ that strength later, and it's pretty stupid to be sitting here complaining that he has the potential strength of an Ebony jeweled Warlord Prince when there's an enemy coming who was able to kill Jaenelle, who I might add, was a Queen with an entire set of lighter jewels, seven blacks, and _six_ Ebony jewels by the time she made her Offering. So all things considered I THINK WE NEED TO KEEP OUR PRIORITIES STRAIGHT!!!!" 

"Oh… We should go before the building vanishes." 

"Good idea," Bulma said dryly, her face returning to its normal shade. The women hurried toward the building leaving the stunned males, and the unconscious queen, to follow in their wake. 

They all entered the heavy stone building, walked toward the heavy stone slab where the robed priestess stood waiting patiently. When they arrived at the altar the woman had a book sitting open to the side. She raised an elegant brow at the sight of ChiChi's unconscious form, but didn't ask about her. 

"Names?" 

"Gohan Son, birthright potential red, adult strength potential of at least low range Black," Bulma ignored the shocked look that passed over Cassandra's face as she continued. "Piccolo, birthright Sapphire, jewel of rank is Ebon-gray- 

"Last name?" she interrupted before Bulma could go on. 

"He's a Namek darling, they don't have last names." 

"Yaslana," ChiChi's voice came from Goku's arms. 

"You formally declare him a part of your families' court?" Cassandra asked, carefully neutral. ChiChi's eyes opened and fixed on the red haired witch. 

"Well, he doesn't exactly serve me in the traditional sense of the word, but he does train my son and he's a friend of the family. It is customary for a male without a last name to take the last name of the Queen to whose court he belongs. Yaslana is my Blood maiden name and it will serve him better in Kaeleer than the name Son. Is there a problem with claiming him as a member of my family?" 

"Piccolo Yaslana it is then," Cassandra sighed, "next?" 

"Krillin Galician, green strength, potential for deep Red, possibly Gray," 18 spoke up before Krillin could answer. 

"Very well, husband of Ebon-gray jeweled Queen. You know they wanted you to rule Glacia after your grandmother don't you? They were rather disappointed you disappeared after the others. Next," she went on without waiting for the response that 18 didn't plan on giving her in any event. 

"Goku Son, birthright Black, potential strength unsure," ChiChi said smugly from where she was now standing next to her husband. Cassandra's head snapped up and she paled, opened her mouth before snapping it shut. The Priestess carefully noted down the information provided. Then she turned to Bulma with an expectant look as if she was afraid to speak, couldn't trust her voice. 

"Vegeta…" she hesitated, glanced at him and shrugged, "Vegeta Briefs, birthright strength of Ebony, potential full strength unsure as yet." The woman called Cassandra whimpered quietly, looking sick as she filled out the information with an unsteady hand. Then she quickly turned toward the black candles arranged in the candelabras and began to light them in the proper sequence. Her trembling hands nearly knocking over the candles as she held a tongue of dancing witch fire over the wick of each. She quickly stepped back and out of the way, careful to avoid looking at the males as she moved as far away from all of them, especially the saiyans, as possible. 

The women looked at the wall, ignoring Cassandra now that her part of the deal was done. The wall slowly swirled, grew thinner and misted. The women motioned the males toward the wall and they followed closely behind. The males stepped through the roiling black mist that parted for them, then closed around them clinging to them as they walked forward. 

Then the world opened for them and they stopped to stare. 

The rich green grass filled the countryside, flowers and trees dotted the land. The sky was painfully blue and clear, and the sun warmed the air around them. The green forest with the moss-covered trees separated them from the dark shadow looming majestically in the distance; a pale shape flitted through the shadows created by the trees. Slowly it came into the open and they stared at the breathtaking beauty. The unicorn pawed the ground nervously, stared at them with wild intelligence before turning its attention beyond the males. 

* Welcome home, Ladies. You have brought us your families? * A soft feminine voice spoke in their minds, startling the males. 

"Hello MoonShadow," Bulma called back. "I take it Draca told you to greet us?" 

"Probably just as well," ChiChi added under her breath, "there's no point in making the guys have to deal with anymore surprises today than absolutely necessary, and there's no telling how they'd respond to KaeAskavi." 

"For sure," was 18's muttered agreement. The guys looked back to see the women were now all wearing long tunics and comfortably worn trousers, with ankle high boots that none of them had ever seen before. The women made the introductions between the mare and males, and she inclined her horned head to each in turn. 

"We're going to travel to the Keep. Where is everyone?" Bulma asked, walking forward to meet the splendid creature. As they neared each other she ran her hand along the white horse's neck in a soothing stroke. 

*Well enough, tending to their own territories. If you call them, they will come. * 

"Not just yet, I don't think. I will summon them when the time is right. Our families are not quite prepared to deal with each other, and I must speak with Lorn about getting a jewel to show their outward strength first. The boyos will have a harder time accepting that our consorts are worthy of us if they think they aren't worthy of even wearing a jewel. And with a Warlord Prince's temperament, the fighting that would result…" 

*They'd all rip the land to shreds trying to prove whose cock is bigger. * 18 observed on a female thread, unaware that Vegeta still had complete access to Bulma's surface thoughts, and subsequently to sent thoughts as well. He jerked when he picked the thought up, looked about ready to say something pithy, but subsided, much to Bulma's surprise. She raised a brow at him in question. 

_What? I'm finding this all very…educational._

*You would. * 

"We should hurry. We'll meet you at the keep then MoonShadow." 

*Lady * 

"Yes?" 

*There has been trouble in Kaeleer. Be careful. * 

"Trouble? What kind of trouble?" the guys were beginning to recognize the sudden shift, the Queen was now speaking. 

*I…am uncertain Lady. A cold wind rises as a bloody moon overshadows the land. Skeletal branches reaching from a barren land. A howling fills the skies, full with the whisper of death. * 

ChiChi stiffened, 18 began to swear vehemently under her breath. Bulma inhaled sharply, her eyes narrowing as her breath hissed out from between her clenched teeth. 

_I hadn't realized things had gotten so bad. Apparently the enemy has more power to affect reality from the Abyss than I recognized._

"Thank you for the warning, Sister," Bulma said formally, respectfully inclining her head. The unicorn bent her head down, touching her horn to first Bulma's chest where her heart was, and then 18's and ChiChi's in turn. She tossed her head at the males by way of parting and then wheeled away toward the forest where she was joined by a creamy white stallion. Their horns glinted in the sunlight as they raced away through the trees. 

Bulma imagined a force pushing against her body, shoving her away from the ground, "I want to speak with Lorn, and I need to get Geoffrey or Saetan to help me look for something at the Keep Library. Probably Geoffrey, since he's been there longer." By the time she was finished speaking she was hovering in the air. Her friends joined her and after telling the guys to come on the three shot off into the sky, flying toward the dark mountain sanctuary they all had noticed upon first arriving. 

"Wow, when did Mom learn how to fly?" Gohan asked, blinking at the retreating form of his mother. Vegeta lunged into the sky after them, silently repeating Gohan's question to himself. 

"You know, I don't know Gohan, but I have a feeling that ChiChi and I are going to have to have a little talk when we get to wherever we're going," Goku decided before launching himself into the air. Piccolo followed suit. 

"No kidding. Every time we turn around there's something else they're throwing at us. At this rate we're going to be thinking everything that they do or say is normal and then we'll go back to Japan and we'll stand out more than ever. Just watch," Krillin announced, joining his friends. 

The males quickly caught up with them and tried to get answers for their newest questions, and tried to ask them about their newly discovered powers. The only response they received in turn was a "Later." Before they could say anything else all three women jerked to a sudden halt and turned as one to stare to the east. 

From the east a dark energy rushed toward them blocking out the sun's light, casting its shadow across the land in a deafening tidal wave that devastated everything it touched, sent everything in its path to the Darkness. Psychic lightening ripped through the sky, scoured the ground in its wake. The wind began to blow, whipping around them in an icy blanket that struck at their bodies, their minds. Trees burst into flames of unnatural colors that no human tongue had ever put a name to. The shrieking agony of innocent animals caught in its path could be heard over the malevolent howling of the psychic storm. 

And it was coming directly toward them.

* * *

  
Thanks for Reviews were posted with the next Chapter! Pease feel free to keep reading. ^_^ 


	14. Chapter 14- The Keep

_**Disclaimer:**I am not in possession of the rights to the characters of DBZ or Dark Jewels, so don't sue me, I'd actually just cry. _

A/N: If you skipped chapter 13 because it was a note from me go back and read it since a real chapter has replaced it. If you would like Bulma to go psycho skip to page 5…or whatever ^_^. Sorry, I'm a bit…yeah, at the moment. Oooh great story idea! I'll tell ya later k? Also if you care about the jewel ranking the list was in chapter 12, if it doesn't matter to you what color they are we'll just say that the women are witches equivalent in magical skill as the z-fighters skill in fighting… aka uberpowerful chicas. 

  


Priceless Jewels  
Chapter 14-The Keep

Bulma made a quick descent, amassing her strength. She quickly snapped the strongest shield she could create around all of them. 18 flowed the strength of her Ebon-gray jewel through the shield Bulma had created, reinforcing it with Sapphire. Soon ChiChi added the strength of the Red and Gray to the weave of the shield. It wasn't until the shield was firmly in place 18 and ChiChi realized what Bulma had left outside the shield- herself. Before they could say anything they felt the world begin to swirl, circling down. _Spiraling._

Bulma spiraled down, submerging her mind into the darkness that was her power. She felt the power pulsing through her, pulsing through the black sky where seven sparkling stars were enclosed in a pulsating dome of colors. She felt the intent of the power, felt its desire to destroy her, possess her. _Desire? How strange…_ Somewhere in the back of her mind she felt the entity she recognized as her body began to move of it's own volition… she didn't care. She gathered her strength, descending beyond the Black into the Ebony. Then she began to focus it, weaving strands of her power together quickly… cautiously. _Hurry! You won't have enough time unless you… there! _

Bulma triggered the web that would release the witch storm that would cancel out the other. She observed the impact of the Ebony against the magic of the unknown source; realized almost too late what would happen when the two forces pushed away from each other. She drained even more power from her Ebony jewel, not caring what toll her body would pay. When her jewel was about to shatter she rose to the Black, siphoning off all the power she safely could while maintaining the shield she had created around her companions. Then she quickly began to pour the strength of the Ebon-gray into her own defenses, protecting her Self. 

Bulma managed to hold the power she had pushed into the shields around the fighters and the land, managed to empty raw power into her own defenses, strengthening her inner barriers barely in time to keep the backlash from tearing her mind apart. She felt a crushing agony rip through her body causing her to scream out in anguish. The world swam before her tear filled eyes before she fell sinking into the spiraling, down into embracing Darkness. _Vegeta…_

The others saw her body slowly begin to spin, gaining in speed as her power visibly grew around her body. She abruptly stopped; extending the arms that had been wrapped around her body toward the dreadful power that was coming directly toward them. She raised her hands above her head, cradling a ball of black power that slowly began to expand. The dancing energy pulsed around her, black, but somehow all other colors at the same time, radiance within emptiness. Then she released the ball, releasing it toward the violent energy. 

The ball expanded, fed by her strength, growing to match the fury of the other psychic storm. Lightening lanced across the sky, crashing forcibly into power of the enemy bolts with a savage strength. The psychic storms impacted, the power washing out hitting the invisible shield Bulma flung up. However, not in time to keep her body from slamming into the shield she had created around her friends with a sickening thud. Her body began to fall forward and the shield flickered where her strength was giving out. ChiChi and 18 dropped the part of the shield they were holding and dived toward her. 

Vegeta was already there. 

They clustered around her motionless form; trying to call to her, beg her to wake up. Suddenly Vegeta yelled, "Shut up!" They froze in shock. 

"She needs medical assistance, immediately. Where's the best doctor in this land?" he demanded harshly. 

"You're holding her," 18 informed him coldly. "But you're right. We need to get her to the Keep. We'll be able to take care of her there." 

"We need to hurry. I'm not sure how serious her injuries are but she channeled too much power at one time. Man her body is going to suffer. Look, you can already see from her arms that she burned up too much muscle." 

"What happened to her?" Gohan asked, staring at the skeletal arm. 

"Her power is great. When you have that kind of power your body is a receptacle for your power. Sometimes you're power is greater than your body can handle, and your body consumes itself trying to be a focal point for the power that you channel. Bulma is more powerful than most so the danger of her power destroying her own body is higher than it is for say one of us, especially since she used her power to shield us, the land and herself." They sped on their way toward the Keep as ChiChi explained what happened to Bulma when she had unleashed her power to stop the psychic storm directed at them. 

Vegeta was only partially paying attention, absorbing what was being said without concentrating on what it meant. All he could think as he flew, looking at the frail body cradled against his heart was _She called to me… I was the last thing she thought of… _

"We're almost there!" 18 called out. She sent a thought out to warn Draca that they were coming, while ChiChi started to list all the things that she'd need when they land. 

As soon as they landed large man with wings rushed up to them assuming a wary stance, shifting his weight to the balls of his feet as he stared mistrustfully at the strange males. His long black hair flowed down his back and he wore tight fitting black pants. His gold eyes narrowed with rage as soon as his eyes landed on Bulma. One second he was about to ask them their business, the next he had Eyrien war blades in his fists. 

* * *

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Thanks for Reviews~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
Raksha: Glad you like it. Yeah, finals are a time for teachers to get back. I 've been dealing with them all this week. No that chick isn't the Cassandra that we knew in the story, she…well I'll explain her later. But yes all the others Draca, Lorn, Saetan and Geoffrey are alive. ^_^ Your reviews are as appreciated as ever Dark Sister. 

manga: Sorry if I didn't clarify this enough. Yeah, I know it's outrageous to have them all so powerful but I hope my explanations scattered throughout explained the necessity. It's no ordinary villain who could crush them in less than 2.5 seconds that's going to go after them. ^_^ Thanks for reviewing though; it helps me know what points I need to clarify.

Inei Tenshi: Glad the explanation helped. Please keep reviewing. 

Roya: Sorry I didn't get this out sooner. I had finals, but we finished today so aside from all the last minute Senior crap that they're going to make us go through before they give us our stupid slips of paper saying we aren't total morons, I'm going to have more time, yay! 

silmir: Thanks for reviewing, aren't DBZ and the Jewels wonderful? 

Sailor Purgatory: Favor granted. It just so happens to be a fairly convenient one too since he was going to e in there anyways since he didn't give his life (or non-life) to Jaenelle's web. ^_^ Besides my theory is this, if he's been around for over 50, 000 years he can handle another 20 or so at least. Thanks for reviewing though! 

Bulma: Glad you like it; you've been added to the really small mailing list. Oh wow, I guess it is a mailing list since there's more than one person wanting updates on when I've posted a new chapter. Wow. O_o *and then just because it annoyed the reporters she repeated * Wow! Lol 

kapies: Yeah, you could be right, although I think Goku is smarter than people give him credit for at times, especially when it comes to training, cause that's what craft would come down to for them, a different type of fighting. But still I'm glad you liked his ranking. I appreciate the reviews. 

Silverstar: Yeah, that was my theory too. You have to figure a lot more thought went into creating Vegeta than Goku, but Goku has the definite advantage of knowing how to use his emotions. Did that make sense? Actually when they're Super… well you might be a bit disappointed in that regard, although not so much as I've probably just led you to believe that you will be. Hm…@_@ Thanks for the reviews. 

Asiolek: Your wait is now over. Yeah, I always felt Vegeta was potentially stronger than Goku, I mean think of his genes people! Thanks for reviewing. 

Kandy: You know that scene was better accepted than I had thought it would be, especially since Vegeta ended up totally OOC. But I'm glad my story has gotten you interested in the Dark Jewels series. Anne Bishop is awesome and the Daemon is hot! Wait, I want Lucivar… no Daemon, aaahhh! Anyways……thanks for dropping me a line. ^_^ 


	15. Chapter 15- The Family

_**Disclaimer:**I do not own Dark Jewels or DBZ, misfortunately. _

Priceless Jewels  
Chapter 15-The Family

Vegeta tensed, getting ready to deposit Bulma as gently and quickly as he possibly could into the arms of…he took a quick glance to his side…Krillin, before killing this annoying pest that stood between Bulma and medical treatment._ Big Bang or Final Flash? This idiot male obviously deserves to suffer greatly before he dies. Perhaps I should just rip him limb from limb. Very messy, yet very satisfying on a personal level. _Before he could decide… 

"Daemonar!" an angry feminine voice snapped just when the winged man was about to launch himself at the Terreillian males, who were already themselves prepared for battle. The strange warrior faltered, looking over to where the voice came from just as ChiChi pushed herself to the front. His blade disappeared as she approached. 

"ChiCh-Ow! LET GO OF ME!" the offended male howled as she twisted his ear. 

"ABSOLUTELY NOT! JUST WHY WERE YOU GOING TO ATTACK THEM YOU MORON? THEY WERE HELPING A QUEEN! WHAT COULD YOU POSSIBLY HAVE BEEN THINKING?!" 

"OW! HEY STOP THAT! THEY'RE STRANGE MALES FROM TERRIELLE AND THEY JUST HAPPENED TO BE HOLDING MY UNCONSCIOUS COUSIN, JUST WHAT DID YOU EXPECT ME TO THINK?!" he roared back, still trying to dislodge her grip from his ear. 

"OH YEAH? WELL I DON'T THINK YOU WERE THINKING AT ALL!!! NOW GET IN THE HOUSE AND TELL AUNT MARIAN THAT WE'RE GOING TO NEED LOTS OF FOOD FOR BULMA AND THE GUYS AND ASK HER IF SHE WOULD BE WILLING TO START WORKING ON THAT WHILE WE START UP SOME HEALING WEBS. NOW GET MOVING!!" she screamed at him, giving his ear a final pull so that he was standing in the direction she wanted him to go before releasing it to give him a shove to get him going. Daemonar beat a hasty retreat under the irritated ChiChi's watchful eyes, holding his now red ear as he went to relay the message he was given. "Males, they never _think_. You have to just about yell at them before you can get them to do anything practical. Come on, Draca should have a room already prepared for her. We need to start examining her so we can decide what webs we need to set up." ChiChi didn't notice the stares she was earning from the males. 

"Such a loving cousin," 18 mocked her gently. 

"Bite me. Bulma's more important than male pride."   


They soon had Bulma laid on a bed in the Keep. The two women turned her onto her stomach so they could examine her back after shooing the males from the room. Goku, practically had to shove Vegeta out of the room, and that was only after the women had insisted that negative emotions would be more harmful to Bulma than his cooling his heals in a nearby room would be for him. 

Vegeta prowled the room, glaring at anyone else when they dared to move and thereby draw attention to themselves. Krillin stared at the agitated prince._ Man, when did that happen and why wasn't I informed that he's almost capable of emotions?_ He glanced over at Piccolo who watched the Saiyan Prince out of the corner of his eye with a sort of sympathetic amusement. Gohan was out in the garden playing with the wolves, which left Goku, the only male willing to become a target for the angry saiyan's leashed rage. 

"Aw calm down Vegeta, they're taking care of her. You know she'll be fine. She did wake up long enough to give them the regen tank and between that and their healing web thingies they said they could have her up by tonight and fully healed within the next couple of days." 

"I _am_ calm you ignorant fool. I'm just concerned and reasonably so. I won't be able to get her father to make me new inventions to train with once we get back to Japan if he thinks that I wasn't able to keep his loud mouthed daughter alive," Vegeta snapped at the innocent fighter. 

"Yeah right," Krillin snorted, deciding if Vegeta attacked him that Goku would back him up enough that it would be worthwhile to risk riling him. "You know if I didn't know better I'd say you were in _love_ with her Vegeta." He grinned impudently when Vegeta snarled at him. 

"I. Am. Not. In. Love. With. That. Damned. Woman. So get that thought out of your head you little- 

"Uh uh uh," a softly chiding voice broke him off before he could say something exceedingly profane about the bald little man. "You must be Vegeta. They said I'd know you right off since you were the prickly one. They were right. And you'd be Goku; my you do look boyish don't you? Krillin I take it? 18 told me about you. And you have to be Piccolo, I'm fairly certain I couldn't have mistaken you from the description my niece provided. And that darling little boy I met in the garden was Gohan, another nephew. How wonderful!" 

"Uh yeah, you know us but I'm afraid we don't share your advantage," Krillin spoke before anyone else could decide how to respond to the strange woman's observations. 

"Oh how rude of me! Allow me to introduce myself. I am Marian Yaslana; I'm Bulma and ChiChi's aunt and Daemonar's mother. I'm sure you met him earlier? He's very protective of the females in the family. 18 and ChiChi said you would probably be hungry about now. Your food is ready if you'd like to come and eat. Bulma is still in the, I believe they referred to it as a tank, so she won't be out until later this evening." 

They followed the pretty older winged woman through the huge halls and down a winding staircase until they reached the dining room. Eventually they were all settled at a long table, fine cutlery and raven glass goblets with what appeared to be wine in front of everyone, except for Gohan who had juice. There was a large sidebar covered with food, and the males quickly settled themselves in for a feast with plates heaped full of the delicious smelling food. When the male, Daemonar, joined them he stared at Goku, who had all of the table manners of a five-year-old child, before shaking his head and turning his attention to his own plate. 

"So why do you have wings and mom doesn't?" Gohan asked the dark warrior. Daemonar's body jerked before he turned to look at the little boy to answer. 

"I'm a full blooded Eyrien, Chi's only a quarter." He saw the question coming and went ahead and answered it, "Mom's sister's daughter married Surreal and Falonar's son. They had a kid and she married a human from Terreille. They had ChiChi. Surreal is a family cousin and since ChiChi's my aunt's granddaughter then she's my cousin either way. And Bulma's my cousin through my dad's side. Her grandfather is my father's half-brother, and her grandmother was dad's sister, so again, either way…" 

"Bulma's grandmother married her brother?" Gohan asked his brow wrinkling in confusion. 

"No Jaenelle adopted the family, so she was related by choice not blood. Then she married her adoptive brother's half-brother, my Uncle Daemon. Clear?" 

"I think so," Gohan said, frowning as he went over what Daemonar just told him. "Oh by the way I'm- 

"Gohan, I know. The wolf pack liked you," he added smiling at the younger version of his cousin's husband. Then he turned his attention to the older males and his voice cooled considerably as he added a stiff apology. 

"I'm sorry about earlier. I should have thought more carefully about what your presence meant, but I saw Bulma and I started slipping toward the killing edge too quickly to control myself. She's a queen and she'd be a strong one if we could ever get her to establish court. Kaeleer needs strong queens." 

"So what's the big deal with them being queens? They said something about not establishing court so doesn't that make them, um not queens?" Krillin observed as he reached for his wine glass. 

"No. They are always Queens. It's a bit complicated so maybe you should ask our grandfather to explain it better but the essential idea is that a queen is the moral center of a community, whether it's the village or territory, she has absolute power within her court. If a queen doesn't establish a court she's still a queen because she will still serve as a ground for the males in her presence, she can still heal the land, and she's still more important to our society than any other kind of witch. Besides even if she refuses now, Bulma could still decide to establish a court later. So can ChiChi and 18, for that matter.   
It's like being a countryless royal in your Terreille. You still are royal, you just don't have a kingdom. Look, the only thing not establishing a court means is that she doesn't have a territory in which she has absolute power in, which shifts her rank to slightly lower than the ruling queen of a territory. Of course that's only as a queen not as just a witch. Depending on the situation you might also have to factor in their jewel rank." 

"What difference does that make?" 

"Quite a bit. It's a very intricate dance, and there are too many different rules for given situations. There's a very thick handbook on court protocol _alone_ that outlines a males rights and duties and a queens powers and responsibilities in return to the males who serve. For now my best advice to you is to try to relax, take everything in, and if one of the coven tries to explain anything to you… _try_ not to beat your head against a wall afterward because it won't help." 

"Personal experience?" Piccolo asked from his side of the table. 

Daemonar glanced over with a lazy arrogant smile. "Why don't you go pay a visit to the Geoffrey, the Keep's Librarian, and ask him to lend you a book written in female?" 

Before any of the z fighters could decide how to respond to that they heard a noise at the door. Every one of them, even Daemonar turned as one… and stared. 

  


** ~Meanwhile in Terreille~**

He woke up with a mouth that felt as if it had been stuffed with cotton. Perhaps it had been to muffle the screams that resulted from the horde of stampeding elephants that had obviously been set loose in his brain since there was still some milling around, stomping through his head. He blinked painfully at the light that cascaded through the unfamiliar window before looking around trying to remember what had happened the night before. He propped himself up on his elbow and it bumped into something. He glanced over to see what it was. As his eye landed on his bedmate he leaned closer to get a better look at her… and started screaming.   


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A/N: Poor thing, mwahahahaha! I am SSOOO evil. At any rate, here's my shameless plugs of the day: Icia hasn't been able to update her story lately, but Raksha and Iceis still have stories up. If you're interested in the Dark Jewels series, Raksha's will give you a better idea about that world since her story is lot more like Anne Bishop's and doesn't add anything of the DBZ style in. You should check it out since it's really well written, and it features more about the characters from the series that I just kind of glossed over. Hm, I think that's it. Wait no, there's also this story call Pleasures of Payback by Bouzi Neo, so if you are avidly dislike Yamcha and don't mind lemons you might want to check it out. All right, that's really it. I'm for reals finished this time. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Thanks for Reviews~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
manga: Glad you don't disapprove of the rankings and thanks for reviewing.

Raksha: No you can't get rid of the annoying ones, 'cause then you won't have anyone around to push the others to the violence that will be upcoming. But that is _not_ the point.^_^ Lol, besides I love totally weird and unneccessary twists to plot lines. Hope you liked this chapter. 

Inei Tenshi: Glad you like the story, I'm sorry you won't be able to read this for a couple of weeks after the first. By the time you get back I may have the story finished. But that's okay cause I have a new idea that goes with this story, but I can't work on it till I finish. I really appreciate your reviews.

Silverstar: I don't really think I do action very well so it pleases me that you liked it. Hope the lack of action in this chapter wasn't too disappointing. Thanks for the reviews. Oh BTW, I plan on covering the vegeta/Bulma telepathy thing in the next chapter or so ok?

Bulma: No problem, but did you read chapter 13 before that? I took down my little note and just stuck a chapter up instead, not quite sure why though... Oh well, thanks for reviewing anyways.

Daniela: Gracias. I'm glad you're liking it. I hope my little explanation about how he's related didn't throw anyone too much.

Roya: Ok. Lol, You're very enthusiastic aren't you? Well I hope this chapter met with your continued approval.

Empress Sarah-sama: It's ok, I'll forgive you this time. lol, thank you for reviewing.

Sailor Purgatory: Sorry Geoffrey has only been mentioned so far, he and Saetan, and Draca, and yea even Lorn shall have a bit of the action later. Can't let them get too comfortable, they might fade into the Darkness, which we will _not_ tolerate. Your reviews are duly noted and appreciated. 


	16. Chapter 16- The Dinner

_**Disclaimer:**I do not own Dark Jewels or DBZ, so sue me._ Wait! _The purpose of that is to_ not _sue me! My bad. ~_~_

Priceless Jewels  
Chapter 16-The Dinner

Daemonar cleared his throat. "Um, Bulma what are you doing out of the tank thing that the girls put you in… and aren't you a bit chilly?" 

Bulma gave no indication that was she was listening, or that she had even heard him. Her sapphire eyes were glazed as they fixed on the table. 

"Food." Her voice was low and husky as she spoke, and her throat worked convulsively as if she was having a hard time forcing the words from her mouth. Her breathing seemed harsh to those with keener senses and every one of them could see that she was painfully thin. Since she wasn't wearing any clothes they could see her ribs were sticking out and her face was emaciated and exhausted looking, a fact accentuated by her hair hanging in damp strands around her face. Her hipbones were sharper than they should be and there was an IV trailing from her right arm. The needle was bruising her fair skin. She didn't notice. 

"Of course," Daemonar stood and walked over to her, calling in a black silk robe he remembered her wearing before. He took her arm, easing the needle out and tossing it into the fireplace. Then he wrapped the robe around her shoulders and tied the front, explaining when she stared down, confused, "We don't want you to get a chill while you are trying to recover your strength, and you're still a bit, uh moisture enhanced, coz." 

She lost interest in him and what he had said as she looked back at the table. He noticed this and led her to the place at the head of the table right next to Vegeta, motioning to a footman to bring her a plate as he did so. He glanced at the door impatiently as if searching for someone before sitting back down at his own seat, a chair specially designed to accommodate his wings, right to her other side and across from the prince who quickly hid his concern behind an angry expression as he stared at her; although not quickly enough to keep everyone else from noticing it. 

Just as the servant placed the plate in front of her, Marian hurried into the room through the far door followed closely by ChiChi and 18. 

"Bulma, how did you get out of the tank?! You aren't even supposed to be awake yet!" Bulma ignored this as well as she picked up a fork and somehow managed to delicately devour the very first serving before they even managed to get around the table to her side. When the footman placed another plate in front of her 18 tried to grab it but froze when Bulma snarled at her. 

"You need soups and soft foods, you're still in the early stages of recovery from draining your strength. If you eat too large of things you'll risk choking," she pointed out reasonably. Bulma stared at her as if she was contemplating jabbing her with the fork that was still clenched in her hand if the android even considered coming near her plate again. "Alright, have it your own way. You're a healer so you should know what you can get away with," the blonde woman didn't sound as if she believed her own words at all as she closely watched the woman begin to quickly attack her food once more. 

The women sat down in chairs carefully directing their attention to their queen, although without looking directly at her. Slowly the males began to resume their meal, although they watched Bulma quickly consume as much as one of the saiyans and continue to eat beyond that. They saw her body slowly begin to fill out as the hours passed by and she continued to consume the food as if it were a fuel for recovery, which apparently it was. The women began to relax as she managed to eat everything without too much trouble. 

Finally Bulma had eaten enough that she started to grow more interested in her surroundings, although this did not mean that she grew less interested in her food. She looked around to see everyone else had finished and was now focused on her. All of the guys except for Daemonar, and Vegeta, who had caught on when he heard her mentally muttering something about stupid compensating for stupid powers, looked surprised at the amount that she had and was still _was_ consuming. 

"Wow, dad. She's eaten even more than you," Gohan's awed voice finally broke the all-consuming silence that had been interrupted only by the clink of dishes and silverware. Bulma paused with a fork lifted halfway to her mouth as she stopped to stare at the mini Goku who was sitting next to his father a short ways down the table staring at her in fascination. "Listen little man, I'll have you know that if Goku wore as many jewels as me then he'd have to eat like this every time he used a great deal of power in one setting too. You know holding a shield, even one assisted with two other dark jewels, while creating a psychic storm of that magnitude and then shielding the land from the backlash as you try to hold enough power in your jewels to keep your own mind from getting shattered and _then_ redirecting some of your power into healing the broken ribs that were puncturing your left lung from where you slammed into your own shields does rather take a lot out of you." There was a flash of anger from the other women that caused Bulma to flinch and drop her gaze to her plate. Bulma chose to pretend that she didn't notice the glares that were now being directed at her from the members of her family and the sharp, searching look that she received from Vegeta. 

"Besides, I only eat like this when I've been using a lot of power, as opposed to your father who is a bottomless pit at all times. Although with all of that training, it makes sense in his case as well since his power is manifested physically. Speaking of which… there's no way I can make the Offering before tomorrow night now so we might as well get them their jewels sometime soon." 

"Wait! Hold up a minute! These guys are getting jewels? …I'm missing something important aren't I?" Daemonar stated to the air, not really expecting an explanation from the women. He wasn't disappointed. Bulma's just glanced at him before shaking her head and continuing to eat.18 and ChiChi stared at him with matching expressions that shouted a, 'Think about what you just heard and do we really have to repeat what was said?' "Alright, stupid question. If Bulma says they're getting jewels then they obviously are getting jewels, but anyone plan on cluing me in as to _why_ they're going to be able to get jewels?" 

"They're Blood," ChiChi stated slowly in a tone that clearly indicated that she thought this was obvious. 

"Never mind," Daemonar spoke in the aggrieved tone of a male who feels he is being purposely baited by the women in his life. He stood up adding, "I'm going to the study to visit grandfather. I guess I'll see the rest of you after you've braved the dragon in his den, so to speak." He gave a wicked smile before trooping off to his destination. As he reached the door he thought to add over his shoulder as insultingly as possible, "And don't overdo it coz." A biscuit hit the door he just slid through and they could hear his laughter from the other side as he made his escape. 

"_Damn!_ And he made me waste a perfectly good biscuit," the most powerful female in the world pouted. Then she sighed and dropped her fork onto her plate. She held up her arm to examine it and decided she had eaten enough for the night. 

"Alright, I'm going to get dressed," she blushed as she suddenly remembered her entrance earlier in the day, "and then we should be ready." 

"Ready for what?" Goku asked her in his disarming manner. 

"Ready to face Lorn."   


* * *

A/N: My second shameless plug for the day, you still need to check out Dark Jewels by Raksha and Pleasures of Payback by Bouzi Neo, they're both really good. If you like the way my fic is going then you definitely need to read these, even if the Jewels isn't a DBZ one. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Thanks for Reviews~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
Roya: Another chapter today. I'm glad to know that I was writing one, otherwise I might have gotten confused, lol. Thanks for your enthusiastic reviews.

Inei Tenshi: Operative word, might. but it's entirely possible since that's only a little less than three weeks and I usually try for at least a chapter a day. But you'll get an e-mail as always when I finish. ^_^

Bulma: Okay, here's some more. Thanks for reviewing.

Empress Sarah-sama: I know, I can't resist having the guys be along for the ride for once. I'm sorry you're finding FF.net stupid. Thanks for the reviews.

Sailor Purgatory: No you don't. I am only capable of doing this because I have no life. Although I admit I like it that way because then I don't have to deal with people since they happen to be my main problem when I am required to live what little life I have. I'm sure there's some really long and unpronounceable term for my personality that pyschiatrists use amongst normal people to sound intelligent... but that has absolutely nothing to do with anything does it? Lol, my thanks to you for reviewing as well.

Raksha: No it's not just your computer, and I understand. Lol. At any rate I'm glad you are enjoying it and yes Yamcha will finish getting his...eventually, bwahahahah! Ok enough with the maniacal laughter. Thanks for being a loyal reader Dark Sister. 

Silverstar: Hope the wait wasn't too long... Sorry I couldn't cover the telepathy thing earlier(even though I haven't covered it yet) but it will be covered in the near future, after all our couple will be alone soon ^_~, and questions will undoubtedly crop up once more.


	17. Chapter 17- The Stairs

_**Disclaimer:**Alright this is getting rreeeeally boring for me so let it be understood from now until the end of this story that no I don't own or claim any credit for DBZ or the Dark Jewels. So there! You are all duly forewarned, just on the off chance you somehow missed every single disclaimer that started off the first **16 chapters!**_

A/N: I edited the summary so it fits better since the one that was up kind of implied more... well never mind. The point was, it was slightly misleading once I thought about it. Also I changed it from Supernatural to fantasy 'cause that's the classification for the Dark Jewels Trilogy. Don't ask me what crack I was smoking the day when I decided Supernatural. Go figure. Oh yeah, this chapter is really short so don't shoot me please. 

Priceless Jewels  
Chapter 17-The Stairs

They all trailed down the long spiraling staircase. Small jewels were set in the walls lighting the stair before them as they made their way down, down into the darkness. Bulma was talking to them, reassuring them and that was making the guys more nervous than total silence ever could. 

"First off I should tell you how you all need to act. Goku, you're a doll, so just be your usual self. Krillin, just for Kami's sake, don't get scared. He can seem really intimidating until you get to know him. Piccolo, well you can probably get by with your silent moody thing," she ignored the protesting noise the Namek made. "Vegeta, just don't tick him off. He appreciates arrogance, but he also expects males to be smart enough to know when to back off, so _please_ keep that in mind when dealing with him, and just be polite okay?" 

"Why should I behave any differently just for this Lorn person? I'm not even polite for you nine tenths of the time." 

"Whoa! He's polite for you a tenth of the time?! Man, how'd you manage that one Bulma?" Krillin ducked behind Goku as Vegeta's anger began to thicken the air. Bulma chose to ignore the male exchange taking place behind her. 

"Lorn's really quite nice. You just kind of have to treat him like Vegeta, except that he's a lot bigger and if he decided to kill you it wouldn't be a quick and probably excruciatingly painful death, but a slow and _definitely_ excruciatingly painful death that would more than likely have you begging for it all to end all long before he even touched your body... But that's not the point. The point was, he's really big and can be rather snarly, but you can't allow that to intimidate you; he hates that. Hm, maybe I should have introduced you to Draca first. Or Saetan, he's a Black jeweled warlord prince so he could probably have given you a clear idea of what being one is like. Oh well, we'll just have to wing it I guess." 

_Treat him like me? I am NOT snarly! _

Yes you are. In fact you're being snarly right now. *Come on Vegeta, getting compared to the Warlord Prince of the Dragons isn't an insult. All I'm saying is they have to be a bit careful of his temper is all. See, not so different from yourself. You'll probably be great friends. * _Or constantly at each other's throats. _

You do realize that I can hear all of your thoughts don't you Woman? 

*...You suck. * _Note to self- examine this bond thing later. _

Feel free, Woman. Vegeta let her feel his smugness. Bulma resisted the urge to turn around and smack him. Vegeta of course felt this and gave an evil laugh, purposely provoking her. She tossed a dark glare at him over her shoulder before returning her attention to the stairs. 

_Keep it up boyo. We'll see how funny you think it is once I figure out how to control this thing as well as you do. So there! _

Are you threatening me Woman? 

Damn straight, I am! Hey wait a minute! I didn't send that thought and it wasn't a loud one either, you picked it up? You mean you really do hear all my thoughts, even the not sent ones? 

You know, for a genius, you're rather slow at times Woman. Of course I can hear your thoughts. 

I am NOT! It just didn't click that when you said all thoughts that you meant all thoughts. I thought it was just kind of you picking up on my loud thoughts, or guessing what I was thinking from the emotions in my psychic scent. I mean you are Blood, so it wouldn't be surprising if you were able to do something a trained warlord prince could do instinctively. 

Wha- 

"Never mind. We're here." Bulma lifted a hand then paused. Cocked her head for a second. _That's weird. No one mentioned that he had company... unless they didn't know. But if that's the case then it's got to be-_ Bulma shoved on the heavy wooden doors, which slid open soundlessly.   


* * *

(really long) A/N: Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out. But guess what? I have officially graduated! Whoo hoo! *does the happy dance before jumping up to race through the house tearing up any old school papers that enter her path while laughing maniacally before sedately returning to the computer.* Ahem, at any rate... I'd like to take a moment to once again demand, er firmly encourage you to read our Raksha's Dark Jewels series, as well as check out Iceis's newest story. She's having issues at the moment so she's focusing her attention on this one and it's turning out really good so far. Enter a reclusive genius maid, an arrogant yet surprisingly talented prince, and a jealous and vengeful villain type and see what the cook comes up with. Hm, I see potential for an interesting dish with The Linking Song. *strokes imaginary mustache thoughtfully* Oh yeah, I'd also like to take a moment to thank my friend Becca for her useless yet entertaining suggestions for spicing up my present story, but which I might be able to use for my next one. Thanks Mama! ^_^ Alright I'll shut up now. Lol. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Thanks for Reviews~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
Empress Sarah-sama: Breath, calm down. Take three deep breaths and _calm_ down. ^_^ Thanks for the review!

Sailor Purgatory, I'm glad that someone is ebenfitting from my non-life. Glad you like my story, and tell Geoffrey hi for me. lol

manga: Once again, I'm sorry for dragging this out. But the actual jewelage will occur next chapter I swear! Thanks for reviewing, ja na!

Dragon Lady: Does it actually make more sense with at least some of the Jewel series under your belt? Hm. Well I'm planning on kind of shifting a little bit more towards the DBZ plotline soon for the patient readers who don't have Anne Bishop's books practically memorized. BTW I read your Bulma werewolf story, I like it. Thanks for reviewing.

Raksha: I'm glad you're liking it. Yeah, the Lorn meeting should be interesting, especially since I'm planning a little surprise. I hope you all like it. As always your reviews are appreciated and welcomed. The Darkness Embrace you as well Sister.

Grimsister: Thanks for finally reviewing. Stop giving away hints, just cause you know what's coming *glares evilly* Lol. We'll get to the stains or something equally out there_ later_ okay? Lol. I'll catch you later, Mama. 


	18. Chapter 18- The Dragon

Priceless Jewels  
Chapter 18-The Dragon

They entered a very large dark room. The only light in the room seemed to emanate from the back wall. Filling the wall, as high as the light reached, was a highly detailed bas-relief. A dreamscape, a nightscape, shapes rising up from and dissolving into others. Animal shapes. Human shapes. Blending. Entwined. Fierce and beautiful. Ugly and gentle. All and none at once. The bas-relief finally gave way in the center of the back wall and the Dark Throne. Surrounding the dais upon which the throne sat were three wide stone steps that enclosed it on three sides. But what really caught everyone's attention was the huge dragonhead sculpture came from the stone and rested to the simple throne's right side. 

The dragon was made of glittering stones that looked a deep green, until one looked closer and saw the other colors swirling just below the surface of its scales. All of them, except for Bulma whose attention was fixed on the room's other inhabitant, stared in awe at the sight. None of the males paid any attention to the tiny figure that floated mere inches from the ground before the steps staring up at the dragonhead as well. 

"Wow. He looks just like the Great Dragon," Krillin whispered in wonder. 

The statue's eyes the color of glowing red coals suddenly shifted away from the figure before it and pinned the intruding group. Slowly the red faded and they found themselves staring into his large midnight eyes. Vegeta was fascinated by the ancient strength he felt coursing through the room, finally understanding what Bulma had been trying to tell them. Being compared to this was an honor indeed. 

*Why have you brought thessse humansss and ssssaiyanss to my lair Witch? * 

The small man who had been patiently floating turned around and raked a thoughtful look over them all before his gaze settled on Bulma. He gave her a slight smile, which she returned before responding to the dragon's demand. 

"And a Namek, oh great and fearless Dragon Prince," Bulma dimpled at him, coming farther into the room. "I brought them 'cause you said you wanted to get to know them, and I wanted to ask you a favor Lorn. But we can get to that in a minute." 

*I never sssaid that, * he stated slowly, a flavor of baffled male filling the air, and the they finally noticed the small man who had a very pained expression, as if he were having a hard time trying to decide whether he should be having a fit of hysterics or laughing himself silly. Bulma flashed him a grin as Lorn's annoyance returned. 

"Well you admitted you were curious about whether the people that kept bugging you and dragging you into Terreille would still be willing to do so if they visited you. So I thought I'd bring them for a visit." 

*I wasss being ssssarcassstic when I sssaid that I ssshould like to meet anyone who wassss sssso persssissstently annoying assss to keep ssssummoning me to deal with their petty problems after they have met me. I did not mean that you sssshould invite everyone who hasss ever ussssed my Dragon Ballssss for a sssssocial gathering in my den! Little Queen, have you heard ssssome of the wissshessss thessse beingsss have asssked for? * The feeling shifted, became a sort of horrified fascination tinged with disbelief, as his eyes returned to the guys who still stood just inside the door, listening to the exchange uneasily. 

"So just what are you saying? That you'd pass up a visit from me just because I wanted you to meet some of my friends and my consort? Shouldn't you be doing something parental like and threatening him with assorted horrors that will happen to him if he doesn't take proper care of me? You're really thankless great-grandpapa dragon you know that?! I feel so insulted!" 

*I am _not_ your great-grandfath… You have taken a conssssort? * He was no longer a baffled male trying to reason with a species that defied reasonable thinking, _male_ thinking. He was a predatory warlord who was ready to protect his queen from a potentially unsuitable match. His gaze was sharper as he studied the males, no longer amused with their presence. *Which one isss he? * the Prince of Dragons asked silkily, dangerously. 

The sudden change in his demeanor cause the tiny man at his side to double over holding a fist to his mouth as he struggled not to laugh at the sudden protectiveness in Lorn's voice. *I'll deal with you later. * Lorn flicked him an annoyed glance before ignoring him in favor of trying to determine whom the, as yet unapproved male was. 

"That got your attention didn't it?" Bulma laughed. "Alright, allow me to introduce my friends the Princes Goku, Krillin, and Piccolo. And of course my Prince Consort Vegeta," they all greeted the dragon in their customary manners, except they were all a bit more respectful than they normally were, especially Vegeta. "I think you two will get along well. Everyone this is the Warlord Prince of the Dragons, Lorn who comes to Kaeleer when you bring the seven scales from him that became the dragon balls together and grants people wishes. I know you've all met but now you can finally get a chance to talk. Isn't that nice? But actually that's not the main reason we're here. About that favor that I wanted to ask you?" 

*Do I want to know? * 

"Probably not but you're going to anyway," Bulma informed him with a noticeably cheerful lack of sympathy. Then she looked at him with her sapphire eyes, exasperated. "Really, it's not that bad great-grandpapa." A blast of hot, dusty-dry air hit them all with enough force to push all of them, except the tiny man who remained unmoving in the air, back a couple of steps. 

*I'm not your great-grandpapa! * 

"Of course you're not, Grandpapa," she agreed in an absently soothing gesture as she focused on the silent spectator who had been there since the beginning of the discussion. The stranger finally broke his self-imposed silence. 

"So this is what it meant, or at least part of it. Well old friend I will leave you to attend your granddaughter's latest whim. Lady," he gave a polite nod before a pale glow began to expand around his body. Bulma let out protesting squawk and rushed forward. 

"Just where do you think you're going buddy boy?!" she demanded drawing nearer to him. 

"Um… Away," he said faintly as his body began to fade. 

"Plant your feet!" His sigh was audible to all in the room as he solidified once more and settled firmly on the ground. "I need you to back me up on this one since he's obviously in a snarly mood." 

"Mother Night! Why are dragging me into this? I don't even know what you're planning, and frankly my dear I don't want to know!" 

"Of course you do. You just don't know it yet." 

"Well then I don't want to know that I want to know it Bulma!" 

"Aw come on, where's your sense of adventure? You're not very daring for such an important warrior type you know that?" 

"That's because I'm sensible enough to know when to fight and when to run away, so if you'll excu-" 

"No! You're staying whether you like it or not!" They all winced at the rather strident note Bulma's voice hit as she screamed this last statement. 

*Enough! What isss it you wanted to requesssst little one? * 

"Oh I just wanted you to jewel my friends here since they're Blood anyway and then we can properly train them." 

*Absssolutely n- * 

"Wait a minute Lorn, that could be a good thing." 

*How sssso? * 

"Well…" The diminutive figure sent the thought directly to the dragon so that the others wouldn't hear it. *If the girls are pestering these guys then they're not pestering you. We can take care of this little problem quietly then. Or if they're useful enough, we might even be able get them to help, without involving the witches. * 

*Very well. I will grant this request. The benefits are not as one sided as I had believed. * The small man gave a slight smile when Lorn grudgingly conceded his point, and his earring twinkled as he looked back at the small group. 

"Alright! See that wasn't so bad was it Lorn?" 

*Yesss * his mental voice grumbled back. 

Bulma gave a small laugh, "Yep, you'll definitely get along with Vegeta." 

"Now may I please leave?" the tiny man asked, brushing a hand through his white mow hawk. 

"No. What if the guys want to talk with you or learn something you can teach them?" 

"Why would I teach them anything?" he muttered to himself, but the guys and, more specifically, Vegeta overheard it. 

"Well why would we want to learn anything from him?" Vegeta demanded, annoyed that Bulma thought he could need training from such an insignificant person. 

"Why wouldn't you want to train with him? That's a warrior thing isn't it? I mean isn't it a good thing to be strong enough to get taught something by the Supreme Kai?"

* * *

  
A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long, I was planning on getting this out earlier today, but I had company. Raksha's little sister is urgently requesting that someone create a fic in which Surreal hooks up with someone, no one in particular, just someone random and sexy! Hm, I think that's all the announcements I have for today. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Thanks for Reviews~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
Raksha: Thanks for the reviewing. I rather like the sound of Warlord Prince Vegeta also. Hope this lived up to expectations. The winds blow your way, Dark Sister. Lol

Kiarene: I'm glad you found that part amusing. ^_^ Keep reviewing and welcome back.

Empress Sarah-sama: Whatever you are on at the moment you need to share ^_^. I'm glad you seem to like it though. Thanks for reviewing.

Grimsister: You little fink! How dare you betray me you impudent mortal!?!? You can't give away my plotline for a mere _reasonable_ sum!!! What are THINKING?!?!?!?! It must be an extravagantly exorbitant one! Have you learned nothing I have taught you?! Lol, thanks for reviewing Mama! 


	19. Chapter 19- The Daughter

Priceless Jewels  
Chapter 19-The Daughter

"You… should have seen… their faces!" Bulma managed to gasp out, laughing at the memory. "Oh it was priceless!" The other women had been listening to how Bulma had taken them down to Lorn's lair and asked for their jewels with wide eyes. They soon joined in with her laughter as they imagined the guys' response to meeting the Supreme Kai. 

"Oh Kami, I thought Piccolo was going to faint he was freaking out so bad. Goku, in typical Goku fashion, was happy that he'd have someone else who was strong enough to spar with. Krillin was so confused; he didn't even know what was going on and kept trying to ask questions until Piccolo, who seemed sincerely shocked at his ignorance, dragged him aside and started a whispering match. Vegeta was… well Vegeta; only he was more respectful after that. Man I could feel him thinking hard and doing some real quick reassessing." She laughed some more. "I didn't quite catch the exact thoughts themselves but I picked up the gist of it, you know how much he could improve with his training. Hey, I think I'm slowly getting the hang of this bond thing." 

"Oh I wish I could have seen that! I guess we should have warned the guys that something like that might happen, but I guess since we grew up around it we didn't realize what it would be like for the guys to meet Shen." ChiChi chuckled as she tried to picture the scene her friend had described. 

"No kidding. So where are they now?" 18 asked. 

"Huh? Oh, after Lorn gave them their jewels he demanded that we all leave him in peace so Shen decided he wanted to test them to see if they were uh 'worth his effort'. I tried to explain to him that he's never had students like our guys, but he wanted to see them in action to decide for himself, 'I'd like to see how they handle themselves, so I know what they need more help with if I do decide to train them.'" Bulma mimicked the small purple man's manner of speech perfectly, even holding her head at the right angle, which set all of them off. 

"So where's he taking them for this test?" a cultured baritone voice asked from the doorframe where the owner had been standing, unnoticed by the laughing women. 

"Oh, hi Grandpapa, hi Daemonar." The four women scooted their chairs around to make room at the table for the two men who joined them. "He's taking them on a Run to test them." 

"He's trying them on the Khaldharon Run? Right off? Isn't that dangerous?" Daemonar demanded at the same time Saetan protested, "I haven't even had the opportunity to meet them all yet!" 

"Not really, since he's taking them on the Hell Run, and don't worry you'll get to meet them in a couple of hours," Bulma assured him as she poured the tea into a couple of fine china cups and sent them floating through the air to set them in front of the males who were staring at her with matching expressions of shock reflecting in their golden eyes. The shock became disbelief when carelessly 18 added, " I do hope they don't destroy too much while they're there. It would make the Eyrien warriors upset to find their most challenging training ground demolished when they arrived there." 

"Well at least it will keep them occupied for a bit. And just think, if they don't do that much damage Gohan will have a place to play when he's not studying while we're here," ChiChi put in. "By the way Bulma did Lorn say anything about Gohan?" 

"If he gets jeweled he has to do so with the birthright ceremony and if the guys want to reach their full strength they have to train and get stronger that way until they're ready to make the Offering. But if Gohan starts the original way, you can train him the traditional way and martial arts can be like a hobby or something for him that way." 

"Oh good. Then he can actually go through a proper birthright ceremony while we're here," ChiChi announced contentedly. 

"Are you two feeling well?" Marian asked, noticing how sick the males seemed. 

"Grandpa? Daemonar? What's wrong? You look pale. Would you like some yabarah? Or some brandy?" 

"The Hell Run?!" The handsome man with long black hair graced with silver triangles at the temples demanded through clenched teeth as his long black nailed fingers convulsed around the handle of the dainty teacup, causing it to snap off with a loud crunch. "He's taking them on a the Hell Run?!" 

"Well, yeah, why shouldn't he? Were you needing it for something else today grandfather?" ChiChi asked him confused by his reaction. Saetan SaDiablo, High Lord of Hell, Prince of the Darkness rubbed his pressure points mumbling something suspiciously like, "... not strangle them… remember… dealing with… can't expect… throttling… won't help…" The women decided to ignore him since Daemonar seemed more in control of himself since he was only yelling at them. 

"The Hell Run?!" Daemonar repeated in the exact same tone, although at a considerably louder volume. "That is used for the most grueling of the Eyrien tests, which are for only the strongest of our warriors, and he's taking them there? They aren't even trained to use their jewels yet!" 

"Is that all that's bugging you? Well if you guys are that concerned about them messing everything up then why don't you go ask them to be careful. Actually that's not a bad idea. They _can_ be rather careless with their blasts, especially Vegeta whenever Goku does anything that pisses him off. Which is everything Goku does, hm. Hey, we could all go!" 

"You aren't going anywhere besides bed Witch Child!" Saetan said, desperately grabbing the first thing out of her previous statement that made sense. 

"_WHAT?!_ I still have to look some stuff up! I can see not going flying while I'm recovering but I have to find something. I need to go to the library and speak with Geoffrey to see if he has any of the types of texts I'm looking for." 

"Fine," he grumped, "but I get to see what you looked up. I don't want any more surprises than I can handle." 

"Hm… okay. If I find what I'm looking for," Bulma agreed, stretching before pushing her chair back from the table. 

"Alright, I want to talk with Geoffrey as well, so I'll go with you. You three can argue over whom gets to go pay a visit to these males you brought to the Keep without introducing to me first." His voice was thunder as he made the last observation, disapproving. 

"Sorry. We were more focused on getting Bulma better and then she wanted to get the guys jeweled," ChiChi said, trying for meek and almost succeeding. 

** ~Terreille~**

Frozen yellow eyes watched the mates of the queens make the Run, along with that meddlesome Shen. He gave a hiss of rage as his eyes narrowed on the purple man who would periodically attack one of them, or dodge a blow. 

He would have to be dealt with. They would_ all_ have to be dealt with. And they would be… soon. In fact, he gave a chilling smile, dropping the near lifeless form of the priestess he had been feeding on, now would be a perfect chance to try out one of his newest tricks. He slid into the darkness that was his home, returning to the Abyss, shifting, his body becoming the form he was meant to bear. 

A sharp tearing pain shivered along his spine, causing him to shudder with the agony that grew so powerful it became ecstasy to him. The sharp crack of bones breaking, growing changing became a cacophonic symphony to his ears. Soon he stood upright in the mists, no longer huddled under the searing flashes that rippled along his muscles as his body began to transform, mutating to match the structure of his mind. 

** ~The Keep~**

"Have some yabarah, it'll help," the pale hand squeezed his shoulder, as he sat slumped in a chair. 

"I can't take this Geoffrey. You realize that don't you? It's going to be like having the coven back all over again, only worse because I didn't have anything to do with raising them," the older looking man sighed as he accepted the raven glass being offered. He looked up at the Keep's Librarian, watching as the older guardian with marble white skin, skin made even more so by his thick black hair and choice of black clothing, took the chair opposite of him. He still had the most sensuous lips that Saetan had ever seen on anyone, man or woman, blood red lips that helped to highlight the whiteness of his skin, lips that were presently quirked in an expression of skepticism. 

"Of course you can. In fact you revel in such situations whether you admit it or not. Look, already your face has more color than I've seen since…" his voice faltered briefly before he carried on, "in a long time. And you get to meet Bulma's first consort and you finally get to meet ChiChi's husband. She's sent home letters describing him and her son, but it's just not the same as getting to meet them. Ha ha, have you met little Gohan yet? He's already paid me a visit. Impressive little boy, much better behaved than any of your children were when _they_ were that age!" 

"Do you always have to remind me about that? All right, I'll admit it again; it was a mistake to bring Lucivar into the Keep when he was that little. You'd think with all the help I've given you you'd be able to forgive me for such a simple mistake. Especially considering how many centuries ago it was." 

"Don't worry, I'm sure I will, one of these days," Geoffrey acknowledged amiably. "…So what do you think your darling granddaughter is up to this time?" 

"I'm not sure yet. She said she'd let me know what she was looking up if she found what she was looking for," Saetan spoke quietly, uneasily. His tone caused Geoffrey's eyebrows to form a v that perfectly echoed his pronounced widow's peak as he frowned in response. Before either of them could say anything else Bulma burst into the room. 

"I have to go! I'll be back later!" The demon-dead librarians had jumped to their feet at her sudden announcement. 

"Where are you going?" Saetan demanded as Geoffrey silently shifted closer in support. They were closing ranks, and they weren't letting her go anywhere without knowing what she was planning. Bulma wasn't paying attention. 

"I'm coming, just hold on!" she sent the thought as she muttered it, flinging it like a comforting lifeline toward the dimming spark of psychic energy. 

"Who needs to hold on? Witch Child tell me what's wrong so I can help!" The High lord commanded. 

"Cassandra! I have to help or she'll die soon!" 

"Witch Child you can't go in your state, you're just recovering." 

"DON'T YOU CARE THAT BASTARD ATTACKED YOUR DAUGHTER?!" She shouted at him. The air was knocked out of his lungs and the room darkened abruptly. 

* * *

  
A/N: Well, o_O This one didn't come out like I had originally planned it, but it did the exact same thing my first scenario did… weird. At any rate, You people should check out Raksha's other fic, SP, it's a DBZ A/U with a little Gh/V and hopefully some T/A, but she won't tell unless you R & R. ^_^ Sorry, all that wasn't necessary but I was enjoying the acronyms, lol. Also there's another chapter up on the Linking Song for Iceis, Vegeta's teaching Bulma how to fly O_O.   


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Thanks for Reviews~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
Empress Sarah-sama: Yup! That's who Shenlong really is for this fic! And as to sharing adrenaline... *shifty eyed look* there are ways! MWAHAHA! Lol, thanks for the review.

Silverstar: I'm sorry but Shen is going to be a permanent character since they need someone who can translate what the girls try to teach them into terms they can understand, besides I don't think he's pass up the opportunity to train students of this caliber, yes? Oh wait that's what you were asking for... well, request granted! ^_^ BTW, I agree, he was one of the coolest characters there and he was kind of in the background the entire time.

DragonLady: Thanks for reviewing again. I'm glad you liked it so much. I had fun with that, poor guys never knew what hit them! 

Roya: As always your eloquence prompts me to respond, lol. A thanks to you as well for your reviews.

silmir: It wasn't a problem. I really like S. Kai too. He was so short and purple, and cute! Lol, I'm about to get struck by lightening for saying all that. I appreciate your input.

Raksha: It gladdens my heart to have your permission to continue with my tale. Lol, I thought you'd like that one though. I would have described their faces, but that would have been an entire chapter in itself to go into such detail. So I opted to shock the rest of the males while I was at it instead. Glad you have your zips back and tell your sis that if I get any ideas for a vague but good title, I'll post the first chapter to my Surreal/? story today. I need one seriously though, so if you have any suggestions about one that would work, let me know okay? I suck at titles. ~_~

Grimsister: CHARACTER DIES! Or not, lol, but I know that one's your favorites. Thanks for reading, and it pleases me that you have taken my lessons to heart. *snicker* I'll see you later. And call me when you can so I we can work on that thing some more. 


	20. Chapter 20- The Encounter

A/N: Ok, sorry this one took so long but I had to decide how I wanted to go about what I wanted to happen. Did that make any sense? Never mind, _I_ know what I was trying to say. At any rate, I was kind of going for action in this one. Um, just so ya'll know I don't _do_ action. 

Priceless Jewels  
Chapter 20-The Encounter

"Saetan? Saetan?! Here drink this," the world was spinning and some one was trying to choke him with something. He snarled, inhaling some of the liquid in the process. The world snapped into sharp focus as he sat up coughing to get the stuff out of his lungs. He was on a couch in the Keep's library and Geoffrey was thumping him on the back. 

"Enough! Where's Bulma? What did she mean by…?" he trailed off grabbing his throbbing head. 

"She stayed long enough to help get you to a couch, leave me a healing brew recipe and then she left to help this Cassandra person. I don't know what she meant SaDiablo; you're just going to have to get her to explain when she gets back." 

"Yes, we're going to have to discuss some things when she gets back. In fact holding a general council of war would be a wonderful idea. What? I don't want it," he tried to wave away the tonic Geoffrey had made with Bulma's recipe. 

"Drink it, or I'll tell Bulma that you're being a recalcitrant patient and then she can dose you. 

"You wouldn't dar- you would! You evil… Fine," he growled grabbing the glass and taking a sip. It was good. It flowed over his tongue like mountain water, with a light forest scent. She'd gotten her talent for healing brews from her grandmother._ Jaenelle. She was the only daughter I ever had. Just what did Bulma mean by-_ He shook his head to clear his thoughts when he realized that Geoffrey was speaking again. 

"By the way, she said she wanted you completely rested by the time she got back. She said she'd explain some things to everyone when she did." 

"Lucky us." _Oh Witch Child be careful. I couldn't stand to loose anyone else. Not another queen, and never another daughter. Please come back to us…_

**~The Hell Run~**

"WHERE DID THESE THINGS COME FROM?!" Krillin screamed as the cone of fire that shot past him, directly where his chest used to be. 

"I'm not sure!" _But I have a pretty good idea._ Shen's thoughts were grim as he blocked a kick with his knee and slammed his forearm into the monstrous being's mere inches before it reached his face. He channeled some of his ki interweaving it with raw energy from his jewel into his fist, and just as the demon was swinging his wicked looking blade around, uppercut it. The demonic creature arced through the sky, but before it could slow its momentum it slammed into a hard surface, through it. It was buried beneath what remained of the mountain. Shen eyes narrowed. It wasn't dead, but it wasn't coming back out anytime soon. He turned his attention to the warlord princes he had brought to this place…and stared. 

"A better question than that," Krillin began conversationally as he dodged a creature's attack, "is, WHAT THE _FUCK_ ARE THESE THINGS?!" Krillin jabbed his fist into the side of the creature whose short spear he had just dodged. The fiend howled and backhanded him, flinging him into the sky. He crashed into Vegeta, sending them both sprawling on the ground. 

Vegeta shoved the smaller man off of him and created a ki blast with his fist, with every intention of killing the little fool who had interrupted his battle. Fortunately for Krillin he sensed another presence behind him and abruptly spun around releasing the energy he had gathered directly into the attacking devil's face, taking off its head in a red shower. He turned his head to the side to look back at Krillin and snarl over his shoulder, "I'll deal with you later!" Vegeta launched himself into the sky, trailing blue light as he smashed into another monster that was about to attack Goku while he was being held in a chokehold by a large green-scaled beast. The monster raised his clawed hand to strike the younger saiyan when the other one was no longer there to do so. The prince was enraged and he gathered his energy again, this time to aim it at the creature's back since his attack on the last creature propelled him past the struggling fighter and fiend. 

_"BIG BANG!"_

Glowing blue-white energy struck the demon directly in its back, leaving a patch of scalded red skin beneath where its heavy scales had once protected it. The unexpected pain caused it to loosen its hold a bit. A bit was enough. Goku placed two fingers to his forehead and used the instant transmission to teleport out of the thing's grasp and reappear above its head. He brought his hands together and summoned his own bit of ki, slamming his golden fists into the back of the demon's neck. The monster went crashing into the ground, a crater forming where it impacted. It slowly struggled to rise… and collapsed. 

"Hey, thanks Vegeta! I guess I owe you now huh?" Goku cheerfully called to the angry prince. 

"You owe me nothing. I was only protecting my own interests. Just remember Kakarott, _I'm _the one who's going to kill you and _no one else!_" The two nodded slightly at each other in understanding, the years of rivalry and respect reflecting in two pairs of Ebony eyes before they both grinned evilly and flung themselves once more into the fray. 

Piccolo rolled his eyes as he listened to Vegeta's ever-ready excuse for saving Goku's ass. Even though Goku was the only other of left of his kind, of _course_ he couldn't possibly be even the slightest bit fond of the younger saiyan. Piccolo snorted softly before ramming his foot into the stomach of the beast that had circled in on him. He whirled around suddenly, and got knocked back by an energy blast.   


* * *

A/N: Well _that_ was a crap chapter. I am sooo sorry. * sweatdrops* This was even worse than my first shot at the lemony part, you know the one I didn't post cause it was that bad and I replaced it with the one you've read. o_O All I have to say is "I tried" *Goes to bed and pulls covers over head muttering something about flying black squirrels and three headed piranhas who eat mayo and say 'Bowwow man'. * 

Another A/N: (Do I ever shut up?) Also I would like it to be known that while my original version of this chapter did not have thanks for reviews they did not go unnoticed. I would have put reviews in but my friend who has the attention span of a three year old threatened to ripened raspberry my room. ~_~ So I was forced to hurriedly finish up the fic and post it as it was. The chapter itself remains untouched and you may feel free to laugh at it. I know I did. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Thanks for Reviews~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
Ryukai: Hope you're not too dissapointed with this chapter. I was kind of using it as a practice for the action that comes later. ~_~ I need it, lol. Thanks for the review!

Empress Sarah-sama: Well your adrenaline is safe from me since it was because of graduation. I had mine last week so I can sympathize. thanks for reviewing. And btw, the main villain attacked Cassandra 'cause I'm giving them all another reason to be more on their guard. I'll try and clear things up in the next chapter when everyone will hopefully be gathered.

Bulma: Hey, thanks for the reviews. Again a general sorry for the defunctifiedness of this chapter, it will be better again soon.

Sailor Purgatory: Thanks for the reviewing, I hope you recover from the little kids. ^_^

Grimsister: Yeah, that would upset the boyos to say the least. Alright, you come from the side and hit her over the head with the notebook containing her story and I'll tie her to a computer chair. So HA! Then she can't escape her fate to write more on her fanfic, BWAHAHAHA!! Ok I think I'm finished. Thanks for the reviews as always mama. Character wastes 5 hours trying to write a fic and only gets 1 1/4 page, half of which gets lost when they try to save it to a stupid disk! (there was no bitterness in that statement by the way)Lol. 


	21. Chapter 21- The Decision

A/N: ** are sent thoughts, italics are regular thoughts, and what Vegeta and Bulma hear of each other's thoughts. 

Another A/N: Ok, I didn't get this one out before because I was working with my friend Grimsister on our new fic. Also this chapter is better than last one since it has no action whatsoever, yay! The only other thing I have to say is that I was threatening Raksha to not write anymore on this fic if she doesn't write anymore on hers and she won't write anymore on Secret Past unless people start reviewing. It should be duly noted that I was not kidding very much. This presents a bit of a problem that is easily solved by you guys at least giving her DBZ fic a chance, which is all I'm asking since once you start reading it, I'm confident it'll stand on it's own.(Wow, I am sooo pushy huh?) Ok, that's it this time, on with the fic!

Priceless Jewels  
Chapter 21-The Decision

"Hold on, we'll back in just a second Aunt Cassandra!" 

"Don't…call me… that!" the red haired witch exclaimed softly, gasping for breath as Bulma slowly raised her to where she was leaning against the altar. 

"Fine, just be still! You've lost a lot of blood. I'm not sure I'll be able to keep you from fading into the Darkness. Here take some of mine. It should keep you with me, at least until I can get you back to the Keep." Bulma held up her right hand. Slowly the fingernails lengthened, sharpened. She nicked the tender flesh of her left wrist and held it to the lips of the witch who continued to lie on the cold stone floor. Cassandra took the blood offering, taking as much as she needed, as much as she safely could from Bulma without harming her. Soon she pushed her wrist away. She needed to conserve her physical strength though, because even shielded by Bulma the trip to the Keep was going to be unpleasant to say the least. 

*I understand… Lady? * 

"Yes?" 

*I know we haven't always gotten along because of our family disagreement… but if I die completely… will you destroy him for me? * 

"I promise you I will, whether you fade away or not!" Bulma gritted out fiercely, blinking away the tears threatening her eyes. 

*Good… I… Thank you. * 

As soon as Bulma held her aunt upright, they vanished from the dark stone Altar in Terreille. They reappeared in a bedroom in the Keep. In fact it was one right next to the room that Bulma used to mix healing potions whenever she was home. She helped her aunt into a soft bed and then hurried to the next room to start mixing a tonic that would help keep her alive until she began the healing webs.

  


Vegeta stormed in, leaving the other males to follow as they would. His icy eyes locked unseeingly on a maid who tried to ask him if he wanted her to send for a healer for his shoulder. 

"Bulma. Where is she?" he growled, not seeing how the girl paled and how all of the other servants in the hall carefully froze as they noticed his eyes; he was riding the killing edge. His ki flowed around him, but he didn't notice the flicks of yellow that danced into existence along his muscled frame. 

"I'm not sure Lord. I thought she was with the High Lord and Prince Daemonar in the drawing room." Vegeta stalked away, ignoring the obviously witless girl's statement. The Eyrien warlord prince had showed them around a bit earlier and the drawing room wasn't where Bulma was. The staff members stared at the spot that the Lady's consort once stood after he used super speed to hurry toward the place where he felt his mate's distress. 

He finally found her in a sunken garden. Raised flowerbeds bordered on all four sides except where the stone steps led down into the garden. Two statues dominated the space. A few feet in front of them were a raised stone slab and a wooden seat. It registered only vaguely in the back of his mind that it was a place like this that he had himself used to go to when he was a child on Vegeta-sai and he was upset. Then he turned his complete attention to focusing on his woman. 

He sensed a dark, yet comforting, power filling the air, making it almost too thick to breathe envelope him as he stepped onto the soft grass. Bulma was sitting on the ground beside the statue of the beast. Bulma was kneeling in front of the statue rocking gently back and forth, as if she were trying to find comfort in the mindless motion. He knew she sensed his presence so he waited, and turned his attention to the statue to give her the time she needed to gather herself. 

As he looked at the crouched, blatantly male body that was a blend of human and animal he felt an animalistic sense of recognition deep in his gut. His breath caught sharply. He knew without being told that _this_ was what Bulma saw in him, that _this_ was the nature that lay beneath his skin. 

Massively muscled shoulders supported the feline head that had its teeth bared in a snarl of rage. One paw/hand was braced on the ground near the head of a small sleeping woman. The other was raised, the claws unsheathed. He also knew that _this_ was what some of the others saw. They would see the beast's claws about to rend the sleeping woman to shreds. They would see the snarl of rage and believe it was about to crush and tear the female, that the only way to control that physical strength and rage would be to keep it chained. 

But they wouldn't look beyond their assumptions to notice the small details, like her the sleeping woman's hand reaching out, her fingertips just brushing the hand/paw near her head. They wouldn't see the way the crouching body sheltered the peacefully sleeping form, or that glittering, green stone eyes stared at anyone approaching. They also wouldn't see that the snarling rage came from the desire, the _need_ to protect. 

Krillin had been shocked at finding him and Bulma together. He had also been concerned for her. Vegeta had sensed that and it had made him angry until Krillin watched them move together and finally caught on. Piccolo had understood right off. Kakarott… that baka wouldn't catch the significance of the statue, but he would understand if he did. Yamcha, Vegeta smiled cruelly, would never understand and if when they returned even thought of trying to chain this beast he would get a sharp lesson in just what a saiyan was willing to do to defend his mate. Vegeta pulled back sharply from those thoughts. They were out of place in this garden and wouldn't help Bulma. Besides it was just pushing him back toward that edge, and he wasn't sure he would be able to control what would happen when he slipped over it. 

Bulma finally rose and turned to face him distracting him from all of his thoughts. There were tears swimming in her ancient haunted _maelstrom_ eyes. She stepped into his arms and braced her head against his wide shoulder, clinging to him, accepting the quiet comfort he offered. He stroked her hair, and started to purr softly, soothingly deep in his chest. She started to weep, deep wrenching sobs that shook her whole frame. The arrogant prince of all saiyans just held her, understanding as she opened her inner barriers to him and wept for all of the people that she had lost in such a short time. He kept his growing rage carefully in check, hiding it as he let his mate grieve. 

Slowly she started to quiet and she leaned back to look into his face. "I'm sorry." 

"You should be," he growled, causing her eyes to widen in surprise. "I felt you get upset and then suddenly cut me off from you. I couldn't feel anything so I… reacted badly. I nearly attacked the Supreme Kai when he tried to calm me down. He didn't appreciate it," Vegeta added dryly. Her eyes grew even wider and she bit her lip in concern. 

"Oh dear! Is that what happened to your shoulder?" she asked finally noticing the tear in his spandex training suit. 

"What? No, I got this fighting one of those monsters in the Hell Run." 

"Monsters? Vegeta, there aren't any dangerous monsters in the Run. Well there are the Jhinkas that occasionally sneak in to try to get the Eyriens killed by making a mistake, but at least there aren't any monsters that should have been able to do that to you even if you were distracted. I don't understand." 

"What do you mean there normally aren't monsters like that there?" 

"I meant exactly that. Eyriens are excellent fighters but they aren't saiyans. They don't have the advantages that you, or even Krillin since he was trained to fight in the same way as you guys, would against the creatures in the Khaldharon Run. So what would normally be a fair fight for them would be nothing to you. Besides, the hardest thing about the Run is fighting while the air pulls at you. Didn't you notice the sudden shifts in winds while you were there? For a winged race, that's very challenging, especially when you add in the close spaces they're expected to maneuver around and the small monsters there. Of course the Hell Run is _much_ worse, but it still shouldn't have caused you that much trouble. I think I need to speak with Shen." 

"Perhaps you should but first, are you… feeling better?" 

"Yes. Thank you Vegeta. I'm sorry I shut you out and that it made you so upset. But Cassandra died and then I had to comfort Grandpapa. You see her mother, the original Cassandra was his first Queen and he served her faithfully. Then he made the Offering and he walked away with the Black. That had never happened to a male before. He was also the first male Black Widow, so she was afraid of him even though she should have known he wouldn't hurt her. She continued to teach him. It was a sort of exchange of services, her skills in craft for his skills in bed, which is a really cold bed for a man to come to especially when even the pretences of affection weren't there anymore. Eventually she got pregnant, but she never told him. Instead she faked her own death and went away and had her daughter, the Cassandra you met at the Altar. The Queen Cassandra actually _did_ die giving birth to her, but she made the transition to demon-dead and became a guardian. She raised my aunt alone. Cassandra, the queen, didn't want him to know that she hadn't actually died." 

"He never knew," Vegeta stated, carefully neutral. Bulma nodded sadly, understanding the carefully controlled dissaproval in his voice. 

"And Aunt Cassandra was never registered at any of the Keeps. The original Cassandra was able walk her through the Birthright ceremony and the Offering process without ever going to Dark Altar of Ebon Askavi. I didn't figure out that he didn't know he had a daughter until he reacted so badly when I told him she was dying. I guess I should have realized it, but I always assumed she didn't want to meet him or return to Hell because she resented him, and that he never mentioned her because it was too painful for him. Saetan takes family very seriously, but he won't step in where he's not wanted." 

"So why didn't this Cassandra do this transition thing you mentioned?" Vegeta asked, going over the story she had told him in her mind. 

She did, a little under 30,000 years ago. Hayllians are a very long-lived race and she was half." 

"I see." 

"I doubt it Vegeta, but you will. At any rate, we should go back to the others. It's getting late, almost time for supper. I can't wait for another couple of days to finish regaining my strength so I should eat and regain what I can. And we can all discuss it and decide what to do." 

"Alright," he agreed, but he wasn't able to hide the quick flash of concern he felt for her. "Let's go find the others. But don't do that to me ever again!"

  


"And then Piccolo got hit by one of those thing's attacks. He turned around and blasted that thing I mean it totally exploded! Krillin was holding off three of the things over in his area. And then the Supreme Kai did this really powerful attack that took out ten of them all at once. Now _that_ was impressive. You should have been there to see it Gohan! But it got really interesting when suddenly Vegeta went all psycho on us. He nearly went super, he was _that close!_" Goku held his index finger and thumb about a quarter of an inch apart to show how close the prince had been to achieving his goal. 

"Shut up Kakarott! I don't need the reminder!" Vegeta growled, stalking into the room behind Bulma who had raised a brow as she caught Goku's last statement. Everyone but the Supreme Kai looked up at his entrance. 

"But that's not right!" ChiChi protested from where she was sitting on the other side of Goku, "There aren't any monsters that are powerful enough to be a big challenge to you guys!" 

"They weren't a big challenge Chi," Goku protested, hurt that she could think such insignificant creatures could seriously be a danger to them. 

"They were temporal astral constructs," Shen announced from the corner where he was standing. His eyes remained closed as he spoke as if he were deep in thought. "They normally don't exist_ period_, let alone in the Run." 

"So it's _Him_. He's the one that sent those things into the Abyss after he drained Cassandra." 

"I'm sorry she died. I didn't know her, but I understand the High Lord took the entire situation badly, and understandably so. He's very tired." 

"Well then we'll let him rest," 18 announced, purposely misunderstanding the purple man's statement. "In the meantime I'm going to go scouting. I've already had an encounter with him so maybe if I descend far enough into the Abyss then maybe I can remember some of the things I forgot when he killed me." 

"_What?!_ Absolutely _NOT!!_" Daemonar shouted at her. "The only thing more dangerous than any of you going into the Abyss would be Bulma making the Offering before she was fully recovered!" 

"Well I'm, sorry you feel that way Daemonar, since I'm going to make the Offering tomorrow. At dawn."   


* * *

A/N: Well this chapter was better than last, no action, yay! Oh yeah for anyone who cares, the fic I'm co-writing with Grimsister is a DJT fic called Dark Fools. If you have trouble finding it just look under Books, The Dark Jewels, and humor, it's like the only one there, lol. Special thanks to everyone who tried to console me for the crappiness of last chapter, you guys are so sweet. Thanks! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Thanks for Reviews~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
Grimsister: I've never read your action, I'm going to have to remedy that. Thanks for reviewing and Lucivar is NOT a satan possessed demonic feline, you're just prejudiced! Laters!

Raksha: Lol, don't worry about it. You have a point, I have read worse action scenes, but not many. Don't kill your siblings, 'cause then your parents will be upset, besides you might find a use for them later. Lol, the cat commands it! Thanks as always for reviewing Dark Sister.

silmir: Thanks ^_^. I'm glad you liked the flow. Sorry I would have made it longer but I was getting desperate, there were only so many 'slams' and 'punches' and such I could use before it started getting boring so I cut it short. Besides I kind of had company and I have trouble focusing when I'm trying to save my possessions from the 'Sun Ripened Raspberry' *hangs head in shame* But on the up side, well you'll see in the next chapter or so huh?

Roya: Don't worry about it, lol. Thanks for being so enthusiatic, I hope that last chapter didn't scare you away. Thanks for all the reviews!

Sailor Purgatory: Well, this chapter didn't have Geoffrey. Sorry he's keeping Saetan company for a bit. Perchance another visit from him later will be in order. At any rate, thanks for being honest about the quality, it makes me think you aren't just trying to make me feel better about it and that perhaps there's a chance that I'll write better for the upcoming action if I practice! 


	22. Chapter 22- The Ring

A/N: Alright another rambling session from me. First off,_italics_ are still thoughts or emphasis, depending. Ok, um this chapter… well someone complained that there wasn't being enough B/V action. Sorry about this, I had to get the stupid plotline squared away so that everything would make sense in the end. But now that I have everything set up… well here you go- a lemonesque B/V moment. I would make it a full lemon but after my attempt at action I am still too aware of weak points in writing and I don't want to screw my baby up anymore. ~.~ However I think overall it turned out rather cute, lol. All together now, everybody say 'Awww!' *looks at silent audience and grumbles * Fine, be that way. Cute wasn't really the right word for it anyway. 

Priceless Jewels  
Chapter 22-The Ring

"Well. That went better than I expected," Bulma tried for a light tone as they reached her set of rooms whenever she resided at the Keep. Vegeta sensed the underlying upset she felt at having to ignore her family's wishes. He just grunted in response before pointing out what she chose to ignore. 

"Up until you informed them that Jaenelle said that if you didn't make the Offering before the end of the week you never would, you had the Warlord Prince of Ebon Rih, I believe that's what you called Daemonar, screaming at you for over an hour, all through supper. The Eternal Dragon added his two cents into the conversation against it, a number of times I might add. The Supreme Kai was positively livid at the idea. If I remember correctly his exact words were-" 

"I remember his exact words thank you very much," she sniffed primly thinking of the tiny purple man's highly… _inventive_ reasoning. "I suppose he did have a point, but can we risk it? If I do make the Offering then yes I will be in danger, but if I don't then I'll be at an even greater risk. We all will!" 

"Then there was the High Lord. He was impressive though, in spite of his advancing age. He had some very interesting things to say on the subject as well," Vegeta went on quickly. 

"Darling, are you trying to distract me from my present line of thought by making me focus on how funny it was to have 4 of the most powerful males in the world freaking out so that you don't have to deal with a distressed female?" 

"Yes. Is it working?" he asked curiously, cautiously. She laughed and threw her arms around him, her mood changing like lightening. He felt the sudden lift in her disposition, but he didn't understand the reason. Even the bond was not going to be much help in understanding this woman anymore than he already did. Which really wasn't saying much as far as he was concerned. Although he was relieved that she seemed to be cheering up slightly. 

"Yes he _is_ quite impressive in spite of his advancing age. I wonder how much longer he will live. After all, most of his reasons for living have already been taken away. He's very tired." Her mood abruptly shifted to pensive. 

"He was quite powerful… there was something about his ki, but I can't quite put my finger on it…" 

"Oh, that. It's just that he's demon-dead my prince," she laughed softly causing him to scowl. Then her face turned serious. "Sometimes when a witch or a warlord dies sometimes they're not ready to return to the Darkness." 

"Meaning?" He was still annoyed with the way she casually used his title as an endearment. 

"Meaning that their body is dead but their spirit light is too strong to fade away just yet. People have various reasons for wanting to continue living. To get revenge if they were murdered, to straighten up loose ends before fading, to continue living out their life as they would if they died too soon. Grandpapa stayed alive, or rather made the transition to demon-dead because Cassandra asked him to as a 'last request'. He is indeed impressive, that he should be able to handle the knowledge that his queen had betrayed his trust not once, but twice."_ Also impressive that he would be strong enough to overlook that to be there for me. _She leaned into Vegeta's warmth again, drawing comfort from his solid presence. 

"And Saediar?" 

"Surreal and Falonar's son. He was named after Grandpa Daemon and Grandpapa Saetan. I know why they were hoping I'd wait until he arrived. He'd have just thrown in his argument with them. He's still coming, but now he won't even know there was argument to begin with. That's something at any rate." 

Bulma was getting upset again. He stroked her hair with his hand. It was so easy to comfort her like this when they were alone. Their bond was surprisingly strong. 

"Speaking of the bond," Bulma said picking up on the stray thought, "I had been studying it for a while before Cassandra… earlier today and I noticed that exact same thing myself. In fact I was psychically probing it and I discovered that it had begun forming since nearly a year ago." Her tone had become decidedly unfriendly, and he caught the questions cropping up in her mind. How long had he known about it? And when exactly had he started picking up her thoughts? 

"Since Namek at least," he agreed, nuzzling her neck where he marked her. 

"Since Namek for what? I know you caught the rest of that." 

"Since Namek would be where we started to bond." He began to nibble on her ear, causing her to shiver in response. "Since Namek that I realized what might be happening, although I did my damndest to spend all my time training in the hopes that it wouldn't happen." He trailed warm kisses along her jaw and her eyes drifted close in response. "Since Namek that I started picking up on your moods which is what lead to me being able to pick up on your thoughts more and more as we got closer." 

Her darkened sapphire eyes snapped open at that but what she was going to say about having a strange alien in her head when she hadn't even been getting along with him at the time was muffled by his lips on hers._ In spite of trying your damndest to keep it from happening, _she managed to toss at him tartly, miffed that he hadn't wanted her the entire time or tried to do anything about it, even as she tried to remember if she'd thought anything she hadn't wanted him to know. She felt his amusement at her conflicting response to his revelation even as his laughter began to rumble deep in his chest. The laughter quickly changed, became a seductive purr and she wrapped her arms around his neck, all concerns getting lost somewhere in the building pleasure. 

Neither of them noticed when the black dress she wore slid to the ground, nor when Vegeta's training suit joined it. Neither of them realized how they ended up in the bed. They were too lost in each other to notice the sheets pillows and blanket landing in a tangled heap on the floor. Vegeta slowly explored every inch of his eternal queen, even as he slowly explored her mind, worshipping her body as no one else ever had. Learning her as well as he knew himself, accepting everything she offered. Slowly he began to open his mind to her, showing her things about Vegeta-sai, about him self, as he skillfully coaxed her body to respond. But he still kept the pain of his past locked tightly inside of his own mind. He felt a quick flash of hurt, quickly buried, from her when she realized he was keeping part of himself back. 

The cold saiyan expected her to pull away in bitter anger when she discovered that he was unwilling to show her the truth about himself and his past. What she did struck him even harder than any freezing rejection ever could. She stiffened briefly and then relaxed, allowing him to feel her confusion. And her acceptance. _How does she do this to me? These emotions… why don't I feel weaker because of them?_

He couldn't remember anyone who had accepted him this simply, this completely. Everyone before him had always wanted something from him. The other z fighters wanted him because his strength was an asset when they were fighting strong enemies. Nappa and Radditz had wanted him because association with him helped keep them secure in their place at the top. Freeza wanted him as a killing tool, a puppet with which to purge worlds. Even his own father had never wanted him as anything other than a strong heir, someone he could hold up on display as a credit to himself. Bulma just wanted _him_, soul wounds and all. 

The proud prince tried to show her what that simple act of faith on her part meant to him with his mouth, with his hands. Tried to show her what he couldn't tell her with words, or with his mind since showing her would have meant letting her see why it meant so much. All he knew as he moved inside her, delighting in hungry moans was that she had chosen him without asking him anything in return but the one thing he could never completely give her without causing that haunted, bruised look to come back to her eyes. _Himself._

  


Vegeta had been watching her sleep for the past few hours, letting her rest and continue recovering rather than keeping her up for the rest of the night as he would have liked. He glanced out of the window. It was nearly dawn. But she could continue to sleep for a while yet. He brushed a lock of pale blue silk away from her peaceful face. Moving carefully so as not to wake his mate he slipped from the huge ocean that was their bed, grinning when he noticed the pile of pillows and blankets scattered across the floor. He didn't really remember exactly _when_ they had gotten there but that was didn't bother him a bit since he clearly recalled _how_ they had gotten there. 

He briefly glanced back at Bulma's sleeping form before going to the closet and looking around for his own clothes. He frowned when he didn't find any. He went to another door, but that just opened into the hallway. He growled, barely remembering not to slam it and glared around the room._ Last door._ He went to the door and opened it, finding another slightly smaller bedroom on the other side. He noticed the bag that he had packed his belongings for the trip in under the bed, so he entered the room, softly closing the door to the larger bedroom. 

Nestled atop the pillow, was a black box with a note beside it. Written in a slightly archaic, masculine hand, the note was addressing him. 

  
_** Warlord Prince Vegeta,   
In the box you will find a ring. The ring belonged to my son and Bulma's grandfather, Daemon Sadi. It was the ring Jaenelle gave him to replace the consort ring. It retains the engravings that indicate the consort position, but it also indicates marriage. Choosing to accept this ring means more than being welcomed into the bed of the Queen who offers it, it also means being welcomed into her heart. My granddaughter has asked that I have it delivered to you. I ask only that you think very carefully about your decision to slide it on your finger.  
On a slightly lighter note I will now explain what I am sure you are wondering. You're clothing and other belongings are in this bedroom as it is customary for a consort to be given the room directly connected to the Queen he serves. If this does not suit you then I would suggest that you take it up with Bulma and she will see to it the staff is made aware of whatever arrangement you both reach. If you have any questions about our society I would be more than happy to address them. **_

Welcome to Kaeleer,  
Saetan SaDiablo

Vegeta growled annoyed at the thought anyone would expect him to sleep in here when she was less than fifteen feet away. He glanced again at the letter, rereading the first paragraph closely. He looked at the small black box lying on the bed… and left it there to search for some clothes and the capsulized gravity chamber.  


* * *

AAAAHHHH how could he _do_ that?! Oh wait I know… My cat is staring at me like I'm really weird now, thanks. Lucivar's lying on top of my scanner on my cabinet and he looks really adorable. This has nothing to do with anything he just looks really fluffy and cuddly so I thought I would tell you this to take the edge off the annoyance I'm feeling for Vegeta at the moment even though I not only know why he just did something so _incredibly_ stupid, but I made him do it ~_~. Ah well, another chapter is up on my Dark Jewels fic The Contract and we'd still like reviews for the fic I'm writing with Grimsister called Dark Fools. Thanks for keeping with me people. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Thanks for Reviews~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
manga: Welcome back from your break. Hope this was enough of a uh, moment between our favorite couple. More pending, lol. Thanks for the review!

Raksha: Plenty long thanks. *would be satisfactorily cleaning whisker of cream if any whiskers were present * Glad you like Dark Fools, I actually enjoyed that one and we will continue if we get any reviews. If you need any help on your fic let me know. I'm at present unable to get into my yahoo account so if you want to let me know what you need help with then you can also get me at demon_cat_13@hotmail.com. Thank you as always for your input Sister and the Darkness send the winds to bring you new ideas. (Wow, I am like totally cracked out or something. Where do I get this stuff? O_O) 

Sailor Purgatory: I can see that o_O. Lol, it warms my heart to see that you approve of my method of getting rid of no longer necessary characters. Thanks for your reviews.

Roya:*hangs head in shame * Sorry for being such a slacker. I would have written more sooner but between spring cleaning(or you know summer cleaning) and my stupid ISP I've been unable to get on the computer very much. Thanks for your enthusiastic reviews though. I really do appreciate them, lol.

Silverstar: Thanks for dropping me a line. Hm, in answer to your question, _yes_. I haven't quite decided about the Offering though, because when it happens it's not going to be… well I guess you see in the next chapter or so about what I mean. I'll try not to disappoint anyone with what's going to happen, but let me know what you think when I post it k? 


	23. Chapter 23- The Rejection

A/N: Yeah I know you're tired of these but this one is rather important. Ok look my aunt who my mother works for as a live in companion is in the hospital and my great grandmother broke her hip in two places. Since my aunt is coming home in a day or so, my mother is going to be having to spend all of her time with her. Which means I'll be staying the night at my grandmother's place. Downside to all this, since you must be wondering what this has to do with you, is that a)she doesn't have a computer b)I'll be staying with her in the evening c) I do most of my work on this fic in the evening. Quick warning, I may not be able to update this as frequently as I have been unless they find someone else to take care of her. 

Priceless Jewels  
Chapter 23-The Rejection 

Bulma's eyes fluttered open as her alarm went off. Groaning she reached over to silence the evil object. She rolled over in the large bed and realized that Vegeta wasn't there. _Typical._ She glared at the pillow with the slight indention as if it were somehow responsible. Then she sat up, groaning, and climbed out of bed. Suddenly remembering the task she had quietly taken her grandfather aside for last night, she quickly went to the door leading to the consort quarters, muffling her thoughts so that Vegeta wouldn't catch anything from her. Grabbing the knob and giving it a sharp tug she quietly entered 'Vegeta's room'. She found the box lying untouched on the bed, with the note carelessly tossed on the desk._ He doesn't want me!_

Bulma folded her arms against her stomach and began to rub her arms to try to ward off her sudden chill, trying to reassure herself that this wasn't a rejection from him. There could be any number of reasons that he didn't want to wear the ring yet. He… he might not feel ready yet. After all, being a husband wasn't the same as being a consort. He could not want to risk it getting caught on anything while he was training. He does work out in the gravity chamber, if it exploded again the ring might get caught on something and tear his finger off. Or he might not grasp the significance of the offer. He _is_ an alien. Really, even if he had been raised in Terreille as Goku he might not have understood it. 

The young queen slowly backed out of her consort's bedroom, reaching blindly behind her for the doorknob. She felt her fingers close around it she yanked the door open and left the room as quickly as she had entered it. When she did she noticed the table full of food that had been set for her. She also noticed the condition of the floor and realized what whichever servant had done this had discovered from the little mounds of blankets and clothes scattered around the room. _Oh well, the servants probably needed something gossip about. Thankfully none of them would take it out of the Keep, and wondering when they're going to have another baby to play with will doubtlessly keep them occupied for a while._ She giggled imagining the dignified servants gleefully whispering amongst themselves. Then her hand flew to her mouth. _**SHIT!**_

_What?!_ Vegeta's mind was suddenly there, startled by her loud outburst. 

_Um, nothing ok? Go back to training or whatever you're doing. I need to think._

He gave a mental growl. _And my presence is interfering with this?_

_No Vegeta it's just… can you give me some time to think about this one?_ She slowly felt him mentally back off and refocus on the robots occupying the air around him. 

She tossed the blankets up on the bed before sitting down at the table, making sure to keep all of her thoughts carefully concealed, while allowing enough of her emotions loose that he wouldn't think she was trying to totally block him out. Which was curious considering how he behaved whenever she got too close to his personal thoughts. 

Bulma realized she'd have to remember to start drinking the contraceptive brew. She couldn't risk getting pregnant when she didn't even know if Vegeta was going to be there for her when this was all over. _Why did he hold back last night?_ She stabbed the breakfast steak and placed it on her plate. Adding plenty of scrambled eggs, toast, a pancake and some sausage to her now full plate. She poured herself a glass of orange juice and began to eat her breakfast as that question swirled painfully in her mind. 

She glanced at the window._ Almost time…_

Bulma quickly finished eating and went to the bathroom to turn on the faucet and allow steaming water to fill the tub. She returned to the bedroom and from the back of the closet she carefully drew out the black spider silk gown. She gently laid it out on the bed, smoothing out imaginary wrinkles along the edges before going back to the bathroom to watch the water fill the ebony marble tub. As soon as the water was high enough she gracefully stuck her foot into the burning water, following that with her other foot. She slid down into the water. When she felt the surface line of water lapping gently against her neck she drew a deep breath and continued to sink until her head was completely submerged. 

_Mother night, why won't he let me in?! I've given him everything! _Her hair floated around her face, taking on a life of its own as she held her breath. _Complete access to anything he might need while he was staying with us. Food at regular intervals._ Small bubbles fled to the surface of the water as air escaped from her nostrils. _My mind. My heart. _Her lungs were burning. _My soul. Even my fucking virginity! _She shot to the surface, gulping in a painful breath, shoving her hair back out of her face._ Why can't you love me like I love you?! Why won't you accept my ring?!_

Bulma rested her chin against the tub's rim. She felt Vegeta's questioning concern, and sent back a reassuring thought, withdrawing back into herself even farther so that her emotions wouldn't distract him while he trained. She didn't want him to get injured because of her. Bulma felt him withdraw once again, even more reluctantly. _Maybe he does care about me… maybe not as much as I care for him, but he does care. Maybe he really does only need time._ Pulling that thought comfortingly around herself, she reached for the shampoo bottle.

  


The Queen stood before the floor length mirror. Her skin was still slightly flushed from the bath but her blue hair flowed around her shoulders in a gleaming cascade. A sharp contrast to her pale shoulders and the gown she wore. The spider silk was a black, as black as midnight, and clung to her curves before falling in graceful folds to the floor. The material was gathered in the center of her chest by a black jewel surrounded by set in gold from which a network of chains inset with tiny jewel chips resembling a spider web spread across her breasts and up over her shoulders. The dress split beneath the jewel, revealing the expanse of her flat stomach all the way to below the small black jewel that rested against her navel. 

Her dress was slit up the side to reveal a tantalizing expanse of white leg. Around which a gold chain spiraled down to the center of her heel strap. In the manner of the web at the top of her dress, the leg chain also carried tiny jewel chips, carefully positioned between the openings of the chain. Power swirled in the depths of the Ebony ring on her finger. The ring that tapped softly against the unicorn horn scepter she held in her hand whenever she shifted her grip on it. 

The scepter had been a gift Jaenelle had given her from deep within the Abyss when she had the Birthright ceremony and received the jewels she was to wear just as her grandmother had. Along with the horn had come the story of the Warlord Prince Katien who had first gifted her with it. _For remembrance, as a reminder._ He had been killed when the tainted queens of Terreille had invaded the kindred lands and slaughtered thousands of the unicorns. And Jaenelle had passed the precious tribute to her friend on to her heir. 

Bulma had replaced the shattered remains of her grandmother's Ebony jewels with her own. And now the scepter was once again a fitting tribute to the Warlord Prince who died defending his Queen, and the Queen who died defending her people. After the Purging there had been only Jaenelle, not the Queen of Ebon Askavi. The Dark Court existed no longer. But then neither did the Dark Counsel. Bulma's lips curved up in a tiny ironic smile. _Not so different from Vegeta after all then am I? I'm the almost Queen of a court that no longer exists to his being the almost King of a world that no longer exists. But then my court can still exist if I chose to make it so._ The smile slowly faded into a thoughtful expression. _I wonder if…_

  


**~The Abyss~**

"Master." 

"No." 

"Please, I would remedy my mist- oumph!" The creature sprawled on the floor. A thin trail of blood seeped from the corner of its mouth to disappear beneath the mist curling along the stone floor. 

"_**Don't**_ make me repeat myself." He gave a patient sigh, "Another master might give you a chance to bungle your mission yet again. I however will not keep sending the same being out to try to redeem them self for something they already screwed up once. You have already proven to me that you can't handle it. However… I_ will_ give you the chance to redeem yourself in another way. I have another job for you that I think will be even more to your liking." The gentle crooning voice caressed the prostrate figure. A violating caress that showed dominance even more sharply for its gentleness. The monster shivered as he looked upon his creator's deceptively kind smile, into the radiant flame of insanity lighting the frozen gold eyes from the inside.   


* * *

Bum, Bum, Bum! Ok, next chapter is definitely the Offering one. Didn't get around to it like I had planned in this one. ~_~ Oh well. At any rate Dark Fools is still up. it's under Grimsister though since we're writing it together. Iceis updated Diamonds Over Water. Raksha still has Secret Past and her Dark Jewels fics that you might check out if you haven't already. Hm. I think that's all the announcements I have. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Thanks for Reviews~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
Sailor Purgatory: Thanks for the review. Babysitting*twitch* I've done that before. *shudder* I hope you survive to return to us...@_#

Roya: I'll try to write more but if I have to stay with my grandma I have to tell you, the only writing I'll get done will be during the day and that _will_ effect the quality of my work. ~_~ *mutters*stupid people calling at 6:00 in the the morning. Sorry I'm rather a night person.

Empress Sarah-sama: O_O Wow, nice 'little nudge' there! He doesn't look very happy now though... lol! It's ok, I've been having a similar problem getting onto FF.net. Hm, so maybe it's not just my crappy ISP, but I think a vast majority of it is. Thanks for reviewing!

manga: Glad I could help you get your fix ^_^. But actually you were right, it did need a little more focus on them together, but I was working up to it. I also know what you mean about the taste thing. That's my biggest problem with lemons... As to him not putting on the ring, well it wasn't really about him, but it does rather fit his personality doesn't it ^_^. I was just really annoyed because I know what's going to happen later... 


	24. Chapter 24-The Offering

A/N: Ok, I hadn't really given much thought to the Offering itself until someone mentioned it and I started to think about it and, I would like to thank Silverstar for making me think about how I wanted it to be and to Grimsister for her comments. For once they were useful. ^.^

Another A/N: The whole color thing going on is because each witch or warlord gets a jewel at their birthright ceremony and it's listed from weakest to strongest, aka light colors to dark colors. Also this was not, as far as I was concerned, a very interesting chapter T_T especially if you're a straight DBZ fan, so unless you're curious about the Offering process itself feel free to read the beginning and skip to the end. 

Priceless Jewels Chapter 24-The Offering 

"So it_ is_ possible?" she pressed as she made her way toward the Dark Altar. The response when it finally came was slow and reluctant. 

*…Yessss. * 

"Please Lorn this is important to me," she spoke aloud as she walked, not seeing anyone else around. "Would you be willing to do it? Please?" 

*…When you recover, _if_ the Supreme Kai agrees, then I will do thisss thing for you. * The ancient voice was filled with pain as he spoke, as if the words wrenched at his heart. But then he understood exactly what was being risked with her request. 

"Thank you grandfather." 

*Hurry, young one. It would not do to be late to ssssomething that Jaenelle wasss wanting you to do for her. * Bulma giggled and began to run through the halls toward her destination, forgetting all the things weighing on her mind and throwing dignity to the winds, maybe for the last time. 

*Right you are grandpapa dragon! * She giggled again when he grumbled a sour, _unrepeatable_, response back. She was still running when she hit the room where everyone else had already gathered. She stopped abruptly and grinned at the assemblage in general when 14 pairs of eyes settled on her. All of her friends, the whole family, Geoffrey, Draca, Shen, and most surprising of all to her, Vegeta was there as well. 

"Hey guys! Am I late?" 

"I should hope not considering the fuss you made yesterday," Daemonar grumbled, still dissatisfied but unable to come up with an argument against Bulma's reasoning for going ahead with it. 

"Bulma was fussing?" one of the newest members to the group, an Eyrien, asked with a raised brow. 

"Don't believe it Saediar. As I remember it was them who were fussing," Bulma gave a pointed look at the males of her family. 

"I see… So is anybody going to tell why _someone_ was fussing the other day?" 

"Sshe will tell you later," a sibilant voice stated from the corner, "she musst hurry if she planss on making the Offering today." 

"Good idea Draca," Bulma nodded respectfully at the older woman with the distinctly reptilian cast to her features, and the feel of an old dark strength surrounding her. 

"The family wisshed to ssee you off. They will be waiting for you in the sitting room while you make the Offering. Come children." They all hugged Bulma quickly. 

"Be careful," Marian said warningly. 

"Don't forget to what we-" 

She cut him off with a slightly exasperated amused tone, "I know Daemonar." 

"Yeah well…" He gave her a quick hug and stepped away, muttering something about stubborn females. Before Bulma could snap at the statement her grandfather stepped up to her. 

"I remember when your grandmother made her Offering. I wonder if that's prepared me in any way for what yours will undoubtedly be like. We'll be here when you get back Witch child," Saetan murmured, earning a wicked grin from his granddaughter. 

"Let's hope it hasn't prepared you for this. You need_ something_ to keep you on your toes." He wouldn't wince. Wouldn't give her the satisfaction. _Damn it!_

"Have fun," 18 murmured and Krillin just opted to hug her since he didn't understand enough to know what was going on and wasn't quite sure what to say. He jerked back quickly when he heard a low growl. Shen quickly took his place and gave Bulma a quick kiss on her forehead before floating back down to the ground and giving her a reassuring smile," Don't forget it's a bit different for everyone, but you can't panic no matter what." 

Piccolo nodded slightly as Gohan wrapped his small arms tightly around her waist and clung until his mother moved forward to speak with her best friend. "Take care. And remember what Shen said, panicking is the absolute worst thing to do," ChiChi hugged her and pulled away, keeping hold of her hands to see how her Bulma looked._ Excited. Uneasy. Laid- I mean happy. But it's a good thing she seems so positive._ ChiChi grinned at her, sending her the thought that they needed to speak when she got out on a female thread so the guys wouldn't pick up on it. Bulma blushed at the knowing tone in Chi's mental voice, but managed to mumble a vague agreement. Vegeta gave a small snicker at his mate's discomfort. 

Goku gave her a bear hug, causing another, more dangerous, growl to be emitted from the corner Vegeta occupied. Saediar echoed Goku's action, grinning as he felt the angry saiyan prince's eyes boring into the back of his head. "Take care cuz," he cheerfully handed her to Geoffrey who kissed her forehead and smiled gently at her, turning to raise an eyebrow when he felt the hostility now being directed at him. 

*My dear prince. Bulma did explain that being my Guardian means that she's perfectly safe from sexual advances, even if I hadn't watched her grow up from an infant, and her mother before that, and her mother before that, didn't she? * 

*I. Don't. Care. * The whole sending thing had been surprisingly easy for Vegeta to pick up. And he used it to let the dead guy know just how little he appreciated any male, even an old family friend touching his mate. Geoffrey was very careful to hide his smile, thinking this was interesting considering what the other males, as well as the ladies, had said about the older saiyan last night after Bulma and he had retired for bed. 

After all the well wishing was finished they all followed the Keep's seneschal who moved with a careful ancient grace toward the sitting room where they would all settle in for the long wait. 

Vegeta was the only one who didn't follow the others. He had come directly from the gravity room, so he was still in his training suit. He stared at her with unblinking onyx eyes. Bulma fidgeted nervously under her consort's unwavering stare. She noticed that he still hadn't put on the ring. 

"I didn't think you would show up with the family to wait for me to return," she spoke in a small voice, hating herself for the uncertainty in it. 

"I understand this is a very important ceremony to you." Bulma nodded, not sure she could trust herself to speak again. "Well in that case try not to trip, woman. The mate of the prince of Saiyans doesn't mess up important ceremonies because of nerves." 

Her eyes lit up at his observation. It was just so irritatingly _Vegeta_ that she couldn't keep the smile from spreading across her face. "Of course not." She stepped close and gave him a hug that he returned after a quick look around to ensure that no one was watching. Then she stepped back and without meeting his eyes stepped through the room with the altar just as the sun cleared the ground. 

The blue haired woman paused on the other side of the heavy stone doors. Allowing her eyes adjust to the lack of light. The black marble altar stood in the center of the room, a pale illumination gradually spread from the altar seeming to come from within the heart of the ageless slab itself. Occupying space on the top of the altar was a candelabrum with four fresh candles and a simple silver goblet. Bulma's steps were deliberate and ceremonial as she approached the dark stone; the soft click of her heals echoing in the silence. Finally she stood before her destination in the darkened room. 

Bulma called in the scepter, all of her jewels, carefully arranging them around the space that would be occupied by the chain web that trailed along her throat down over her breasts. She unattached the chains at the top of her dress then spread the golden web out on the center of the altar top. Slowly she reached down to unclasp the chain from her heel, allowing the chain to dangle free, brushing lightly against her leg. Then she detached the leg chain and spread it out below the web chain. Keeping her movements slow and steady she removed the black jewel clasp before turning her attention to the jewel hanging from her stomach. 

Her dress slipped open in the front revealing her white flesh. Bulma began to unlace the side of her dress in the same manner that she had done everything else in the room. Soon the rest of her dress followed, falling open to reveal the rest of her body. She shrugged her dress off her shoulders, carefully draping it on the floor beside her. Her shoes followed. After seeing that everything was in place she turned to the candles and lit each in order they represented. Father. Brother. Lover. And the center of the Blood triangle that connected all the sides together,_ Queen_. 

Bulma raised her sharpened nail and pierced the sensitive skin on the inside of her wrist allowing the blood to flow rich and warm from her vein. She held her hand carefully above each of her jewels allowing her own blood to awaken the power residing within, causing each to flare sharply, a brightly colored star lighting in the darkness, glowing with a cold blazing fire. 

A glimmering White light glowed to life, followed by a melting Yellow softly reflecting the rays of the sun that wasn't present. The gleaming gold of the predatory Tiger Eye stared up at her from the gold base it had been mounted in. The pale pink petals of a fresh spring Rose grew brightly in the darkness. The Summer-sky shimmered with the glow of its namesake. An amethyst light stretched from the heart of a Purple Dusk jewel as an opaque nimbus surrounded the Opal stone, the dividing color between light and dark. 

Green glittered sharply against its black backdrop, while the Sapphire gave off an electric blue that was almost painful to look at. The Red slowly expanded out ward in a bright pool the color of blood. Gray had a foggy light that burn with strange fire, Ebon-gray shone fiercely, defiantly in the flickering candlelight. Black pulsed with raw energy that teased the edge of her vision with light, while Ebony emitted a near-luminous darkness deeper than the blackness beyond it. 

A spiral of color reaching up from the dancing shadows that enclosed, _embraced_, the area around the altar. She reached out a hand, held it still over the goblet allowing her still running blood to mingle with the contents contained within. A brush of power healed the wound. Sure fingers closed around the silver stem, lifted the chalice shaped cup to her lips. 

The cup was a symbol of her mind. The once half full goblet had been enclosed wine, now full of blooded wine, representing the mixing of her past experience with her full power, her mind shaping her power. The wine flowed smoothly down her throat, and the silver cup was returned to its rightful place. The silence stretched, an expectant feel began to grow in the air, bringing a flood of dark power surging to life around her. Her eyes darkened to gleaming sapphires, became untamed. 

Her hair began to curl slightly, becoming a mix that was neither hair nor fur, but a curious combination of the two. Fangs extended from their sheaths as nails grew into claws. A small spiral horn rose from the center of her forehead. Her tail unwound from her tiny waist while her silvery blue wings unfurled with a gentle rustle until they reached their full span. And a howling rose from the Abyss, a song full of joy and pain, rage and celebration. 

Slowly Witch began to spiral down into her power, exploring the hidden crevices of each level and gathering her strength as she glided through the Abyss. From white to yellow, yellow to Tiger's Eye, Tiger's Eye to Rose, going deeper and deeper until she had descended to the darkest depths of Ebony. And there she stopped, balanced. Slowly she opened her inner barriers, tasting the power in the air around her, probing with her mind, reaching outward with the power already in her possession. She felt the resistance against her mind as she carefully pushed against the barriers that stood between her and her full strength. 

The young Queen was intent, looking for the weak spot she would have to break though to create an opening through which she could reach her full strength. She didn't notice the danger to herself until it was too late. Her thoughts brushed against the tangled web that rose from the Abyss and she instinctively fought against the threads that began to spin around her mind. She somehow _knew_ that if she didn't fight against the blackness that danced chaotically at the edge of her eyes teasing her mind with half formed visions, that she would fall into the Twisted Kingdom, the place non-Bloods referred to as madness. 

She felt an overwhelming numbness pull at her body, dragging her down. The web was trying to pull her down into the Darkness itself even though her mind was not yet ready to embrace the Offering of it's power. It was suddenly cold, as if she were moving through freezing water, struggling against the searing barbs that were sinking into her mind from all directions, weaving through her very first inner barriers that guarded her inner Self.  

  She felt panic clutch at her heart. If she didn't find out a way to stop the threads of the tangled web from reaching the core of her Self then she would crash though her Inner Webs, and completely loose her power to do craft, not just basic but all of her power would be burned out, and if she were lucky she would die. Death was preferable to the aching void that would fill her life with the loss of her power. But it was too hard to think, too hard to breathe. Even to care.

Bulma's eyelids fluttered. They were too heavy, but there was the thought of something tugging at her. No not something, _someone_. Someone… the name eluded her, slipping through her grasp whenever she tried to reach out and find it. She was falling, plummeting. She crashed through a delicate white web. The wind felt so good, like riding on her motorcycle. She hadn't ridden her motorcycle in forever. There were only a few more barriers left to protect her Self remaining, the tangled web had already slipped through most of them.

 _I should be worried about that… although I can't remember why it was important…_WHERE'S MY DINNER WOMAN?! _Someone, someone…_ you are not answerable to anyone else for your actions. _Such pretty colors, like looking at the back of your eyelids right after you turn off the lights… _On one condition…_But there was someone I was thinking of, now who was it? _I am NOT snarly!_ Huh?_ Ebony eyes staring unblinkingly at her._ Oh no, I broke it! I BROKE the pretty blue gossamer!_ A wicked grin playing around the edges of his lips._ I'm so sorry! _You will not act as if it is shameful._ I didn't mean to honest I just- ohh look at the pretty PURPLE! But there was something about the blue… Such a pretty blue, not like the dark blue training suits that- What was I thinking?_ The mate of the prince of Saiyans… _Vegeta!_

Bulma's half closed eyes flew open and she stared in horror as she watched the Twilight's Dawn web hurtling upward toward her. She scrabbled frantically at the insidious threads that were sliding against her final barrier. Now that she was alert again the threads began to dig into her mind, burning, distracting her from trying to save herself. She closed her eyes, trying to think quickly, ignoring the pain and searching for the answer within the stillness of her self. As she forced herself to silence she felt a slight give in the enveloping tangled web. The answer suddenly dawned on her.

Bulma quickly flung open her inner barriers, surrendering herself, and used her power to slow her plunge. She poured all the strength she had gathered as she descended into keeping herself from crashing through the iridescent purple web laced with other colors. She felt the change in her momentum, but kept her eyes closed, focusing instead on the gentling breeze that brushed along her body. The body that she soon felt pressing against the threads of her last inner web. She felt the strands stretch absorbing her weight, and stopped. 

Cautiously prying open an eye she peeked at the web that she was clinging to. Her hands were wrapped around a taut strand. A strand that began to glow. In fact the entire web was glowing, becoming see through. Soon the entire web vanished and the blue haired witch began to float down. Finally Bulma felt her feet settle on solid ground. Sweat trickled down the side of her face and her breathing was ragged, but she was safe. She opened her eyes. 

Darkness. Swirling mist. 

Before her stood an altar, similar to the one that stood before her body in that which she referred to as reality. Only this one didn't have the black candles, didn't have the golden web, had only some jewels and in place of the silver goblet was a chalice. 

_A crystal chalice_.  Her mind. She breathlessly watched the power churn in the small space. She could feel her strength change as she watched. The shivering liquid darkness became a tiny whirlpool in the crystal chalice… and she felt pain. Pain so excruciating that her knees buckled and she gripped the edge of the altar to keep from falling to the ground. She sensed something warm and slightly metallic tasting trickling down her lip. But that was somewhere far away, not here in the Abyss, and she couldn't worry about it. _Something was strange…_

She looked closely at the jewels. Her grandmother's jewel, the Twilight's Dawn that she had been so proud to receive at her birthright ceremony remained unchanged. There wasn't a stronger jewel that existed. But her Ebony had become Twilight's Dawn as well. Her three Blacks were now Ebony. Bulma frowned as she tried to remember something that teased the edges of her memory. Her grandfather's voice, not Grandpapa Saetan but her beautiful, wonderful grandfather Daemon's voice reaching out to her from a distant memory, _"The Twilight's Dawn was the only one of it's kind. Lorn said there never would be another of its kind. Treasure it my little witch for you gaze upon the most priceless jewel. The jewel that saved the heart of Kaeleer itself."_

Bulma's frown deepened. _If Lorn said that was the only one that would ever exist then where is this one coming from?_

"Excellent question my Lady," a deep cultured voice spoke, carefully pronouncing the words as if they were a foreign language that required precise enunciation. 

Bulma whirled around to face the intruder… and screamed.  


* * *

It didn't really turn out the way I would have liked but things seldom do :P. I would also like to thank everyone who expressed their sympathy for my aunt and grandmother, I greatly appreciated it. Also I would like to point out another story that has caught my attention, it's by Daniela and is called Sinister One, it's a really major A/U and I loved the concept. It was not only very original but Iwas impressed that she was writing that well in English when that isn't her native. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Thanks for Reviews~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
Grimsister: As I already explained, Bulma is an inventor, besides if they have regular clocks in the actual Dark Jewels series don't you think they's have regular clocks centuries later? They had freakin' photographs in DJ! THanks for reviewing Mama ^_^

manga: Thanks for the sentiment and for reading. Um, I'm not sure if Vegeta is going to do an Offering in this one, but I was thinking a short sequel with the kids perhaps... That is if people aren't already sick of this story and don't care about the whole aftermath thing...

Raksha: Sorry, it's a new villain, but I do think he's a twist... I just hope you like him! ^_^ Thanks for your wonderful reviews. The winds blow your way Dark Sister.

Roya: I will try, but my aunt died so I might not get as much out in the next couple of days as I normally do, at least not until after the funeral.

IneiTenshi: Welcome back! ^.~ I'll go ahead and send you the chapter now, k? Thanks.

TigerWolf: Amazing? O_O Wow,I'm not sure about that, but thanks. I'm glad you seem to think so, although it's hard to screw up a story that is based off of two of the best series in existence ^_^. The world is from the Dark Jewels series and the main characters from DBZ. I just thought it would be neat if someone combined the two. Graci.

Silverstar: Well here it is, I hope you liked it. Next chapter will focus a bit more on Vegeta's thoughts and all. YOu'll figure out the villain in the next chapter, or two... lol. As to the Shen well, i'll see what I could do okay? Actually, he probably will come up a bit more... 


	25. Chapter 25- The Mist

A/N: Um, ok in this one it helps if you have a better understanding of Dark Jewels because it brings in a couple of characters who play major parts for a bit. If you haven't read any Anne Bishop it's important to understand that before Lucivar and Daemon moved to Kaeleer and joined Jaenelle's court that they hated most females and would frequently kill/destroy the witches/courts they were forced to serve. I had planned on more Vegeta, but somehow this turned out more of a Bulma having issues thing… o.O Sorry 'bout that… kinda ^.~

**Priceless Jewels**

**Chapter 25- The Mist**

"_Perfect!" _ His lips curled in a sly upward smile as he leaned forward to whisper in her ear, gently stroking her face on the other side. "Let me tell you a secret about your beloved grandfather, little one… He lied. The Twilight's Dawn is neither the only one of its kind nor is it the most priceless _jewel_ to ever exist." His soft laughter drifted through the mist eerily, tinged with a hint of madness.

…He lied… He lied…He lied… 

She felt the caress of his hand in the back of her mind, but she was too focused on trying to block out the words that rang mockingly in her ears, swam in her brain. 

_No, he didn't lie! He would never lie to me! Not about grandmother! Never about Jaenelle, never… never, never, never… NEVER!!! _

**                                                                           ~The Keep~     **

Bulma had gone in to make the Offering early Monday morning. In the four days since then Vegeta had trained with the Supreme Kai and learned about Blood laws and the protocol of Court from Saetan and Geoffrey, even a few craft lessons from Draca. Almost against his will, he was developing a deep respect for her family, for her culture. This was a society not so different from the one that he came from, as long as you looked below the surface.

Years before one of his illustrious ancestors had decided that his people's skills would be better applied by hiring out as mercenaries; the Saiyans had lived by a code very similar to the one embraced by the Blood. He had planned on restoring such values as soon as he became the King. More than anything else, more than the torture and beatings, more than purging missions on planets that had been friends with and allied to Vegeta-sai, he hated Freeza for that. He hated the evil, gender-confused lizard for destroying his dream for his people before they could become what they had the sheer potential to be. _And Kakarott… _He cut that thought short, struggling to bury it again because he knew his hateful resentment for the younger saiyan hurt his mate.

"I see you're wearing the ring," a deep baritone voice observed, jerking Vegeta from his thoughts, causing him to look up from his plate. He nodded, cautiously polite, as both Saetan and Geoffrey sat down, joining him.

"You didn't come in to eat with everyone else," the Keep's Librarian pointed out at almost the exact same instant. 

"I stayed after for a bit to keep training," he responded to the challenge in Geoffrey's tone rather than deal with the implications he knew came with the High Lord's statement.

"I see."

"I doubt it."

They both were sitting comfortably in front of him, one slightly more to his right, the other his left, but both where they could easily see him… and be seen by him. Patient hunters both, they waited. And waited. And waited. Vegeta was being surprisingly stubborn. They glanced at each other with, a look of understanding passing between them before Saetan cleared his throat and tried again.

"Prince Vegeta, you are aware of the ramifications of accepting that ring aren't you?" 

"I thought you already explained that, didn't you?" Vegeta asked softly, allowing an edge to come into his voice. "Or do you disapprove of my decision?"

"No, I don't disapprove. Not that my approval is an issue here," Saetan's golden eyes narrowed dangerously when Vegeta gave a grunt of agreement and started to eat his food again. The High Lord received a sharp mental jab from Geoffrey, who earned a small snarl for his efforts. Saetan carefully cleared his throat before continuing. "However, we just wanted to be sure you understood exactly what you were getting into. And that you were aware that Bulma would wish to be hand fasted."

"What's that?" Vegeta asked without looking up, although they felt the sudden dismay in his psychic scent, saw the tension in his shoulders. 

"Oh nothing much. Just what the landens in Terreille refer to as marriage." They noticed the slight stiffness leave his shoulders and the small smirk cross his lips. 

"Unnecessary."

"Oh, and how's that?" Bulma's grandfather asked with a sudden chill in his voice.

"We're already mated and bonded. Such a thing is pointless, and nowhere near as binding. Of course we can do so if it makes her feel better, but I personally see no point in it."

"Bonded?" Geoffrey asked at the same time Saetan demanded, "Mated?" 

But before Vegeta could respond Bulma's other cousin Saediar's mental shout reached them.

*THE KEEP'S UNDER ATTACK!!!!! CONSTRUCTS!!! THERE'RE THOUSANDS OF THEM!!!!! *

All three men, jumped up…                        

**~The Abyss~**

Bulma turned around slowly, frightened, searching for any sound. The mist that had once been such a comfort when she descended into the abyss now an enemy that hid the danger waiting for her. She heard a soft noise behind her, it sounded like a small foot scraping against some flagstones. She whirled around and faced the direction the noise had come from. She relaxed when her mother's calm face appeared, golden hair piled atop her head with small silver combs. She was clothed in deep red spider silk and stared at Bulma with the clear blue eyes Bulma only saw that way when they were in the Abyss.

"Mama? What are you doing here? Never mind, I'm so relieved you're here! I was scared Mama!" She leapt forward to cling to her mother's comforting presence. Bulma abruptly froze when her cold voice rang out clearly like a frozen bell.

"Don't touch me." Bulma fell back a step, stared at her mother in confusion.

"What- Mama? I don't understand…" The icy blue eyes burned through her as her mother's face twisted in hatred. __

_"How dare you try to touch me after what you did to me?!"_ the older woman hissed furiously. 

"Did to you?" Bulma asked in a small voice, hesitantly reaching one hand toward her mother. The tiny woman shrank back in revulsion from Witch's human hand that ended in sheathed claws.

"Look at me now, at what I became after I birthed you! This is what I was before you came into my life! Look at yourself! You're a monster! It's no wonder I slipped into the Twisted Kingdom after I saw what I had brought into the world. It was the only way I could deal with the horror I felt at your birth, with the disappointment in your father's eyes!" 

Bulma's body flinched as she felt each word strike at her mind and heart like a blow. "You…you fell into the Twisted Kingdom because of me? That's… why you act you so confused all the time? You went… insane… because you…" she had to pause to gulp back the sob threatening to escape, "couldn't stand the sight of me?"

"_Exactly_. You're the reason that I'm no longer what you see before you now. In the Abyss is the only place that I can be whole because of you! I just came here now to tell you never to come back home again, _ever_. Or I swear I'll do what I should have done when you were an infant! Trust me, my resentment is such now that I won't hesitate to kill you!" The blonde woman turned her back and glided back into the mist.

"Kill me? Kami! Mama, no! Don't leave me here alone! Please, I'm sorry! I'm sorry, but I'm stronger now I can save you! Please just let me help! Mama, please don't leave me alone… I'm sorry…I'm so sorry, don't leave me…" Bulma fell to the stone floor weeping as her mother's figure vanished without a backward glance. 

"You know, you shouldn't let that bother you so much Bulma," a familiar voice said, "If I were you I'd be more worried about what the Sadist will do to you when he realizes that _you_ were responsible for Jaenelle's _death_."

"Uncle Lucivar?" Bulma asked, through the sobs wracking her body, looking up to see the long black hair, the lazy arrogant smile. He sat on top of the altar and the smile he gifted her with couldn't hide the rage and loathing in his hard cold eyes.

"I'll get whatever's left of you of course. Compensation for killing my sister, maybe Daemon'll even let me help." He launched himself into the sky and his dark wings huge against the roiling mist, until he vanished as completely as her mother had. 

"Responsible for… No, she didn't die because of me! She died because of the presence in the Abyss… didn't she?" Silence greeted her query, accusing and heartless. 

"No." The seductive, _cruel_ voice shivered along her skin, the hatred undisguised in it. Bulma jerked toward the sound of the voice and stared.

"Grandpa Daemon? I thought you were dead…"

"Wrong again little witch," the beautiful face was sculpted into a hard mask. The malevolent smile chilled her, and something savage glittered behind his sleepy glazed eyes. A ring of ice formed around his feet and Bulma began to tremble as he walked toward her.

**~The Keep~**

"It looks like they're coming back again," Daemonar observed. Goku and Vegeta nodded in agreement. The astral constructs had begun their attack hours ago, swarming in and then suddenly falling back, attacking in no discernable pattern. Each wave had been met with the combined jeweled strength of the Kaeleer born males and the strength of the Terreillian fighters' energy attacks. Even the Supreme Kai had added his power to defending the Keep. As it stood now, half of the males who had helped defend the castle were wounded and thirty-seven were dead. They all launched themselves into the air to meet the creatures that were rushing toward them yet again…

**~The Abyss~**

"Grandpa? What's going on? What did you mean?" Bulma asked, terrified by the cold rage now being directed at her. She had never seen her grandfather look like this, never seen the side others referred to as the Sadist. 

"Let me make this simple little _Witch_," he bit off. "You're a queen and Jaenelle might actually have cared for you, so I can't punish you for killing another queen even if it is the one I served faithfully for years and your own grandmother. And there is no law against murder among the Blood. So instead I will demand another price for my loss… how about your _prince?_" his lips twisted into a malicious smile on the last word.

"Vegeta?! No! You can't kill Vegeta! _I WON'T LET YOU!!_" Bulma screamed at the evil double of Daemon Sadi.

"And just how are you going to stop me? Listen well, I was killing Terreillian queens long before we tried to waste our time making something good come from the mistake that was your birth you ungrateful little bitch!" he grabbed her wrists, grinding her delicate bones together until they were about ready to break. "I'd go ahead and kill you anyway but that would be too easy for you. I want you to suffer as I have suffered Lady. And it _is_ a fair trade. My love for your love, _granddaughter._" He shoved her back to the ground and strode off into the darkening mist, leaving only vicious laughter in his wake. 

Bulma stood up and reaching out a hand stumbled blindly into the fog, began running after his retreating figure. Amused golden eyes gleefully watched her. Soon she would wander into the Twisted Kingdom, freely without being pushed. The watching figure's lips curved into a gentle, angelic smile.

And all of the threads would then be in place…

* * *

Awww, aren't Saetan and Geoffrey so cute when they're into the protective father, 'If you don't agree to marry her I'm gonna beat your ass' mode? That's about the only thing I can think of offhand after writing all that. . Sad isn't it? Oh well, Daniela has a cool story called Sinister One you _need_ to check out! Also we've updated Dark Fools and it's listed under Grimsister if you want to check it out. ^_^ *hint, hint *

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Thanks for Reviews~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Empress Sarah-sama:  I haven't given you his name yet so don't worry about it too much, lol. As to his screwing things up, well you can't be too surprised that he's giving it his best shot here... Icia was right; it was really weird in Harry Potter that so many people acted shocked that the bad guy drank the unicorn's blood, especially when you consider that he was the _bad_ guy. I'm glad you're getting into it though. ^.^ 

Sailor Purgatory: It warms my heart to know that you approve of my description. I really didn't think it came out right, especially since I got my Invisible Ring book and found the Shalador fire dance ritual described in it… but I was rather satisfied with it overall. Please be gentle on Vegeta, it wasn't anything personal, just the protective instincts of a Warlord prince kicking in (amplified by his basic Saiyan nature) so all things considered he was actually being very well behaved toward Geoffrey. ^.~ Thanks for the review.

Raksha: O.O Sorry that my cliffies cause you extreme mental trauma when coupled with Fanfiction being down…  Lol, I'll try to have a new chapter in my Surreal fic up by today or tomorrow, FF.net permitting. At any rate, the new villain should be revealed in the next chapter or so and well, he's kind of different… but I like him. Thanks for your support and the Darkness embrace you dark sister. 


	26. Chapter 26- The Enemy

A/N: Sorry this one took me so long to get out, I had a reason not to post this yesterday that involves the newest fic I posted and company as explained at the bottom… Um, so anyways, here you go. A little more Shen and Vegeta, with a dash of Bulma tripping out k?  
 

**Priceless Jewels  
Chapter 26- The Enemy**

_There has to be a pattern. _Black eyes narrowed in frustration. The constructs were once again retreating. Lifting his hand to create an energy blast that would take out a number of the retreating figures he kept his eyes on the wall of 'flesh' in the distance. With a shout, he released the energy toward the retreating wave watching as the constructs didn't even seem to notice the screams of their neighbors as they continued to retreat at a steady pace. Grotesque shapes fell, limbs twisting in agony as they plummeted toward the ground. 

_Yes there has to be a pattern. Even creations such as these have basic survival instincts that would dictate they either flee or fight. The others should have picked up speed or returned to attack. Meaning they're being completely controlled, and that he has a reason for pulling them back at such a steady pace regardless of whether or not they're in danger… Now if only we knew why…_ Shen growled in anger before floating down until he felt his soft boot connect with the dark stones of the Keep. _He always presses an advantage, even when we were young he was that way… so why the sudden change in tactics? What are you up to Ixtarn?  _ 

The Supreme Kai felt the others gather around him watching him, waiting for an answer that he couldn't give them. His fists clenched at his sides and he gave a silent snarl. He looked up at the waiting faces surrounding him and shook his head, setting his white hair swaying slightly. His Ebony jewel flared sharply beneath his shirt, as his temper blazed in response to the waves of violent frustration rising from the other men. He quickly pushed his temper away before he lost control and rose to the killing edge. The boyos were having a hard enough time keeping it reigned in without having to deal with the danger of another warlord prince riding that dagger rim. 

"They're being controlled, but there's no reason for them to hold back like this. Forty-six dead. Even with all of us fighting they could be doing more damage than that… if that was their intent. There are still thousands of them, more than enough to take out the Keep if they maintained a protracted assault. Even if we all manage to stand fighting, the rest of our forces aren't strong enough to keep those kinds of numbers from spilling through. But there's no logical reason to keep us pinned down here," Shen spoke with a suppressed resentment that the others could see was gnawing at him. 

"No reason that _we_ would deem logical," Saetan corrected mildly staring up at the sky with narrowed eyes, absently massaging his bad leg.

"What do you mean?" Gohan asked. "Isn't it better for us that they attack this way since it allows us to defend without loosing too many people?"

"Yes and no," Krillin answered, before diving into an explanation of why the enemy's tactics were making them all so uneasy.

Vegeta tuned them out as they all began to uselessly speculate on what possible reason their enemy could have for wanting to keep them under siege instead of ending it as he could have yesterday when his creations had first began to attack. _Yesterday…_Something niggled in the back of his mind, but the droning of his companions' voices and his own recalcitrant thoughts refused access to the memory struggling to surface. Closing his eyes as if that would help block the conversation swirling around him, he tried to concentrate. Yesterday, there was something significant about yesterday, but he couldn't for the life of him remember the reason why. He opened his eyes and mouth to ask if anyone else could think of something significant when it hit him. Bulma went in on Monday. The constructs started attacking yesterday at noon. Friday, that was a day and a half longer than her grandmother…

The memory of Saetan sitting there warming the glass of yabarah with a rueful smile on his face, _"Well this should be interesting. I remember the first time I went through this. Jaenelle went in to make the Offering. Normally it only takes from sunset to sunrise, but not that time. Three days, that was how long she took making the Offering. _

_Draca still refers to the 'courteously hysterical fit' I had when my daughter didn't come out after the second day whenever she wants to embarrass me or unsubtly hint that I'm fussing too much, when everyone knows that I don't fuss. Of course we're all expecting it to take even longer for Bulma than it did for Jaenelle, so this time I'm more prepared for the wait. We _all_ are."_

Vegeta inhaled sharply. When was the last time he had sensed anything from Bulma? When she was descending, he had felt the sudden surge of her power when she had stopped but nothing sense. He turned his mind inward, searching for Bulma through their bond… and felt nothing. Not even the wall that indicated she was blocking him out, it was if the bond had been severed. Which was impossible, _wasn't it?_ Nothing could sever the bond, not even death. He tried to reach for her without finding anything. Again, and again. Nothing. Then, a faint flicker that died as quickly as it appeared. Vegeta refused to believe it was his imagination. There _had_ been a response. Which meant the bond was still present… It also meant that someone was trying to fuck with his mate while she made her Offering. _Damn!_

He hadn't observed that a couple of the other z-fighters had noticed the sudden change in his expression; saw the sudden realization bloom in his eyes. Goku and Piccolo shared a look.

Ignoring the others Vegeta quickly turned away and started walking to the door leading back into the keep. He felt a large hand settle on his shoulder. 

"Where are you going Vegeta?" Goku asked his eyes sharpening in that unnerving way they had, giving a glimpse of something more beneath his usually cheerful façade. The only times any of the others ever saw this part of him was when he was lost in the joy of battle, calculating the enemy's weakness. Seeing the other side in Goku that showed that there was something more to the simple man had always angered Vegeta before, but now he found it strangely reassuring. Goku at least respected his judgment enough to know that when he felt something was wrong that he should embrace the part of himself that he normally shoved away. 

"Get your hands off me you baka!" Vegeta spat out, wrenching himself away from the younger man's grasp, suddenly angry with himself for even considering allowing himself to feel reassurance in the other man's presence or that brief flash of pride at the realization that Goku trusted his judgment. Resentment flared in his breast for a second that Goku would push his heritage away except when it suited him, and then when he did embrace it he did more than any normal saiyan would have thought possible. _Like killing Freeza._ He shook the thought off when he realized the other saiyan was speaking.

"What is it Vegeta? You know something," Goku pressed watching the prince closely. He had seen, just for an instant, so many emotions in Vegeta's black eyes as he had stood snarling at him. The emotions were all conflicting and swirling, too many for Goku to make out. Now he saw nothing but fury reflected in the shorter man's eyes. 

Vegeta's low, barely controlled voice, quickly escalated to a shout as he responded with, "Something's wrong with Bulma so get off my fucking back so I can go _help my mate!_" He used super speed to escape while they were gathering their wits in response to his announcement. Before any of them could follow, Daemonar noticed the constructs rushing back toward them.    

"Hey, those things are coming back again!" he announced before anyone could stop the Ebony jeweled warlord prince who had stated his intent to interrupt a Queen making the Offering.

**~The Abyss~**

She followed the mocking laughter along a glittery trail, winding through the blackness like stars. She was desperate to reach the voice, reach her grandfather to beg that he not harm Vegeta. Just the thought of losing him creating a deep ache in her bones that made her want to curl up into a small ball and die.

Suddenly her feet sunk into the thick black carpet and her headlong rush was stopped when she found herself blocking her path. Octagonal in shape, the mirrors covered each of the walls when she turned in a slow circle. She looked up and found another mirror on the ceiling and herself wearing a long black gown that was slit low in the front and swirled around her feet. Her arms were left bare and her lips were black. She looked at her reflection more carefully. So were her eyes, although her lids were also covered with a thin layer of silver so that along the bottom of her eyelids was a line of silver that faded to a sparkly grey that bled into black. Her hair was suddenly curled and swept up off her shoulders by the black ribbon twining itself through her tresses.

 Without warning her own reflection was replaced by that of Jaenelle. Her beautiful blonde grandmother stared at her and the displeasure in her expression gradually changed. Now she stared at her granddaughter with frozen sapphire eyes, and the anger went so deep beyond cold rage that there wasn't a word for it. Yes there was, and Bulma suddenly remembered it. _Queen's Rage. _Bulma shrank way from the image as Witch raised her hand threateningly…

**~The Keep~**

"You cannot go in there," an ancient voice coldly informed him, "asss we already explained to you. To interrupt the ceremony now would be to endanger the queen." Draca stood between Vegeta and the door to his destination.

"She's already made the Offering, Draca, I felt _that_ change. But now I can't even feel her," he explained himself to her as he would never bother with anyone else, trying to be patient out of respect for the ancient strength he sensed in her in spite of the fact that his mind was screaming at him for wasting even this much time. 

"Ssshe musst come out on her own. No one can enter the room where an Offering isss being made. That isss the way it has always been…" Draca's expression never changed, but there was an expectant quality to her silence when she finished speaking.

"Bulma's in danger, and I'm going to her," Vegeta stated simply. 

* * *

Really Long A/N(whiny excuse): Hey, ok um, here's my reasons for not posting it yesterday. Um, actually I had this chapter finished day before yesterday but I was thinking about it and wanted to change a couple of things. Then I read it and decided what I wanted to change it to would never work, so I'm sorry about that. Then I decided to just finish up the last couple of chapters of my new fic so I could go ahead and post it. So I spent all of night before last and a portion of yesterday morning before my friends came over posting all **_63_ **chapters of **When Did THAT Happen?!?!** You might check it out, it's a humor choose your own adventure fic (don't ask, I don't know what I was on when I decided that was a good idea)… and I've wasted a lot of time on it. Anyways, if you do decide to check it out please refer to the suggestion section if you want to see any characters added, because that has the characters that are in line next if I get enough reviewers… and I can be swayed by reviewers opinions so if you want a character added I will put it on the list and see if enough people are interested in the idea. Or you can submit your own alternatives if you want and I can post them if they tie in with my uh… plotline? Beyond that Grimsister and I have updated Dark Fools so you also might mosey over there and have a look see. ^_~ There Mama, are you happy? Enough shameless plugs and all, this is a bit long even for my tastes! .

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Thanks for Reviews~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Grimsister: I regularly put plugs in my author notes to let people know when we've updated Dark Fools! I am glad you approve of my efforts in spite of your attempts to wreak havoc on my attempt at a serious fic with your bouts of humor and you BETTER leave Lucivar ALONE!!!!! He is _NOT_ a Satan possessed demonic feline! Ahem, but anyways, thanks for the reviews ^.^ (hey I changed my villain's name, what d'ya think?)

manga: That was a Bulma chapter w/a glimpse of Vegeta while this one is a Vegeta chap w/a glimpse of Bulma. In answer to your question, it seems like no from the way I laid everything out but it actually is yes and no. The reason will be explained later. Thanks for the review and I'll try to cover that more in the next chapter or so. ja ne

Silverstar: *gives a bow* You flatter me. ^.^ As to your whole ordeal question, a little of both. The first part up until she reached the altar was purely her Offering, then after that Ixtarn started attacking her before she was recovered. Clear? I'm hoping to over everything before the end of this fic so I don't have to write a sequel explaining it, so please keep asking any questions you have! Thanks as always for the support.

Sailor Purgatory: Thank you as well. Freeza is so gender confused that even the people who own the rights to him/her don't know what to make him. Female on M/W/F, male on T/T/S, and both on Sunday. Oh well, lol. I'm glad you approved of the issues that Bulma was and still is suffering through. At any rate, I'll try to slide Geoffrey in as much as plot will allow since it's not a big deal and you seem to enjoy him. Thanks for dropping me a line. 


	27. Chapter 27- The Wait

A/N: I'm late! I'm soo ashamed!!! ~_~ *hides face from angry reviewers* Sorry I got a little carried away working on my site and forgot to update. You guys are going to be angry with me for this, but this chapter is really short... Sorry, don't hate me! Ok, now that I've sufficiently admitted that I'm not worthy and all that, as per request, I had a very brief flashback that drops vague hints about what's up with Ixtarn but nothing terribly actiony(that probably wasn't a word, but oh well it is now), and not much of a confrontation, but you have to remember... oh wait you don't know that yet... o_O Ah well...  
Oh Second A/N: Hey, do you guys want to see a bit of what I've been working on? I haven't linked it to anything else yet but I have uploaded a fanpic I made of Bulma that goes with this fic. ~_~ I've never airbrushed anything in my life before this pic so be gentle with me ok? I still have issues with the fact that it doesn't look like the other pics that I've seen other people do but... yeah anyways, here. http://www.dejabelen.bravepages.com/bqw.html   
Like any of you care, lol. Well check it out if want... and do drop me a line if you know how to improve it. I need all the help I can get.

**Priceless Jewels  
Chapter 27- The Wait**

"You cannot go to her. Her body isss there but her mind isss not. Going in there will accomplisssh nothing and disssturbing her body while her mind isss occupied could dissstract her at a dangerousss time," Draca informed him without moving out of the way. 

"What can I do?! I can't leave my mate in danger!" he growled, his frustration making his words sharp. 

"Go to sssleep," she responded simply. 

"What?" he demanded, off guard. 

"Wear the ring when you do ssso. It will help…" he sensed something beneath her words and tried to feel them out, to decipher what she was getting at. 

"Is there anything I can take to help me sleep? I don't think I'll be able to in my present state," he pointed out respectfully, carefully watching her to see if this is what she wanted of him, knowing all the while that Bulma's life could be on the line. 

"Yesss. I will make you a sssleeping brew. It will be in your room by the time you arrive there, Warlord Prince." 

"I thank you for advising me in this Lady Draca," he spoke, formally taking his leave with a bow befitting of the Prince of all Saiyans. He quickly made his way through the winding corridors, not even taking in the small statues and sculptures and pieces of art scattered along the dark walls. 

He finally came to his bedroom and looked around, spotting a cup filled with the promised brew. Slowly grabbing the cup he sat on the bed. He raised it to his lips when he realized that something wasn't right. He pushed himself off of the bed and through the door, leading to his woman's bedroom were he locked all of the doors, cut off all of the lights. _Yes, this is what was wrong. Her psychic scent was weak in my room._ Her dark scent rose to embrace him and he sat down on her bed, placing the brew on the bedside table that his keen eyesight just allowed him to make out. He reached down and removed his boots, before yanking off his gloves and finally his training outfit. 

After all of that he called in the ring and once more slid it around his finger. It felt right. With that he took the cup and taking a deep breath drained the cup. It slammed into him like an avalanche, with the heat of a volcano. The cup fell from his hand and he lurched to the side as the world spun sickeningly before stretching out on the bed more by chance than design. The world ceased to exist.

  
__

"Ixtarn, you can't do that!" he shouted, chasing after the other boy. 

"And just what are you going to do about it?!" his gold eyes gleamed feverishly as he stared triumphantly down at the younger Shen. 

"You have to give it back! Please," he pleaded softly. 

"No. It's mine! It says it wants to be with me! Once we have the other jewel no one can stop us! Not you, and not Lorn! Together we'll punish them. We'll make them see the error of their ways… we'll make everything the way it was truly meant to be."  


"You okay?" A hand landed on his shoulder, ripping him from his thoughts. He looked up to see a wine glass being thrust at him. He gratefully took the wine and sipped it, tasting the herbs that added to the wine's flavor. 

"Fine, just… thinking." "Ah. Well I'm turning in for the night. I'm a bit old to be sleeping on stone, which is where I'll end up if I try to stand guard with the living," Geoffrey's sensual red lips curved up at the corners in a faint smile. 

"Where's Saetan at?" he asked glancing around.

"He's trying to keep the boyos in line. After that last siege one of them remembered what Prince Vegeta said and flew off the handle, which naturally set the rest of them off. Half of them are planning on beating sense into him while the other half is going to take on all comers who try to interfere with him while he's trying to help his mate. He should about have them all settled down by now. To be young again…ell I'll take my leave Supreme Kai."

"Thanks Geoffrey."

"Don't mention it Shen." The ancient guardian stood and strolled inside after dusting off his pants. Shen looked back toward the sky, wondering when the next wave would hit and thinking about what Vegeta said earlier. There was silence in the Abyss, not the glorious howling that signified Witch's presence, but an empty frozen silence that felt as if it could shatter at any second. He spoke to the empty night. "We have to stop him somehow."

*It isss no longer in our handsss. He attacked while ssshe wasss there. If we plunge into the Abyssss trying to save her then we risssk giving him exactly what he wantsss. *

*I know that Lorn, but I can't stand waiting here! Isn't there something we can do?! *

*We wait… for now. *  


* * *

Ok, that's a reaaallly short chapter... but I'll make it up to you because I have something good planned for the next chapter! Hopefully it'll be long enough... At any rate, while I was getting stuff organized for my site I found a short, and sadly _true_, short story that I wrote about an actual event that happened to my friends and I (that was really redundant wasn't it?). It's called ** Much Ado ABout Nail Polish** and it'll give a faint idea about Dark Fools, so you might check it out... and then go check out **Dark Fools** under Grimsister too just 'cause! Oh yeah, I still have my choose your own adventure fic up called **When Did That Happen?!?!** It's 63 chapters, and lots of weird stuff can happen. How can you, as hard core Veggie fans pass up an opportunity to grab his tushy?! (or get killed by him, or hook up with Goku, or... *ahem* I'M NOT TELLING YOU WHAT ALL CAN HAPPEN!!!!) Only 6 wonderful reviews,how discouraging. I think I'm going to cry! *heartfelt weeping* Ok I'm finished now...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Thanks for Reviews~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
Raksha: Not a problem, glad you reviewed. The actual running to the rescue bit won't come in till next chapter, have fun in PA! The Darkness embrace you dark sister. Oh yeah, sorry I didn't get chapter 3 of The Contract up as soon as I said, but it's up now if you want to check it out. It's very random...

Ifonly: I'm relieved you were bored. Were the first couple of chapters really that bad? O_O Oh well, thanks for the review!

Empress Sarah-sama:Um, it's a good thing you don't have access to my computer, you might chunk something through it while reading about Ixtarn, lol. Sorry, this chapter isn't much but I do plan on making it up to you all. Thanks for your ever enthusiastic reviews ^.^

Silverstar: What can Vegeta do by busting in there? Simply put, not a DARN thing!^_^ But then he's not thinking very clearly at the moment... lol. Thanks for the suggestion, it rather made this chapter longer than it was since the original was kind of just Veggie crashing out ~_~ And it'll give me something extra to play with later whenever I need filler or want to drop some hints about my bad guy type! It wasn't a tiff, just a flashback thing. But, graci anyways and thanks for the reviews!

Grimsister:No, I'm saying you should lay off the caffeine. What? It's not enough my readers have to look at my plugs, but we're adding in yours as well? Lol, I don't care as long as no one else does. Lol, anyways, thanks for the review, and I know the whole Ixtarn name thing _is_ kind of obscure and the kind of thing only I would think of. *smacks the table* Sorry, I saw some symbolism floating around... ^.~ 


	28. Chapter 28-The Descent

A/N Alright, here it is, interesting twist and all! Hope you like it.  Beyond that I would only like to ask you to check out my fic called When Did THAT Happen?!?! I've only gotten 6 reviews, but they all seemed to like the idea! And come on people, I wrote **_63_** count them( I know you won't) chapters, and I'd just like to say that I worked really hard on that fic. And that was just the writing, not to mention the *shudder* going through and checking and renumbering I had to do to make sure the page numbers matched, and the *twitch* uploading(over five hours worth on my dinky computer)…  and I didn't update my Surreal fic in forever because of it. Lol, pathetic isn't it? Alright already *grumbles * I'll quite whining, sheesh!    

Priceless Jewels  
Chapter 28- The Descent

He was plummeting, scrabbling frantically at the air when nothing happened when he flared his ki trying to stop his momentum. Broken strands of webs clung to him, wrapping around his flailing limbs and restricting his movements. Faster and faster, he was falling into an endless darkness, spinning out of control. Yes he recognized this sensation, as it was the exact same thing he had felt when he discovered that Freeza had destroyed his planet, stealing everything that had ever meant anything to him.

Vegeta didn't care for the sensation that history was repeating itself, that he was about to lose everything he loved all over. But he couldn't stop it, couldn't slow his momentum and there were these damn strands that were hampering his movement, hampering his thoughts and cocooning his entire body in a heady warmth. There was something about the strands that demanded surrender and promised love and honor in return. His eyes narrowed as he struggled to focus on this idea. Wind rushed past him as he dropped. 

He looked closer at the strands, seeing the different colors clinging to his body, entwining around him and offering comfort. He struggled. He couldn't accept comfort and warmth when so much was at stake couldn't focus on the gifts offered up by the webs. He had to train and get stronger, he had to… _Love and honor_… He had never experienced that particular combination before in his life. Or had he?

Why do I feel like I've forgotten something important? I didn't think you'd be here. And why is hurting so much? Blue hair.  Something about these webs… sapphire eyes looking trustfully at him… Something important… more binding than marriage… Something's not right… something's missing…Vegeta! something… I want you to be the one to do it. someone… You are mine! Bulma! 

The strings are a part of Bulma! Left from her descent into the Abyss and imbued with her emotions the colorful strands was all that remained of the webs she had crashed through as she fought off the effects of the tangled web. Someone was trying to take her away from him. Love and honor is what she had offered him and someone was trying to steal that away. Something inside him clicked into place and he stopped struggling. His uncontrolled plunge turned into a graceful, savage dive and he opened his mind, opened his barriers to try and sense his mate. It's stronger here. Which means we're closer, but someone is still trying to block us off from each other… Someone is going to suffer for this. How dare they fuck with my mate?! I am the Prince of All Saiyans and NO ONE harms my woman!  Vegeta screamed out a challenge as he dove through the darkness, getting closer and closer to his goal. 

He didn't notice the strands wrap around him, coalescing into an armor that looked suspiciously like his training suit.

Yellow eyes flickered as the roared challenge echoed through the Abyss. Lips curled back in a slight sneer before resuming their habitual soft smile. He turned his head to the side to address the shadow standing respectfully behind him to his left.

"Oh dear. You know at this rate he may accidentally make the Offering. Do be a good fellow and keep him occupied until I have her captured would you? It would be dreadfully inconvenient for us if he came storming in just when everything was about in place. It would get messy, and I simply hate the thought of my nice little plan getting messy."

"It would be my pleasure Lord Ixtarn. Why don't I play the welcoming committee for our little Saiyan companion while you take care of his bitch," the figure floated up into the air, without waiting for his response and started to fly directly toward where the sound came from. Cold gold eyes watched the retreating form with a thoughtful silence.

"What a disgustingly annoying voice that creature has. And it has an equally annoying habit of repeating my orders as if it were coming up with some new and original ideas. Perhaps we can do something about that. Remove its vocal chords perhaps?  Yes, that might work nicely. After I've succeeded in capturing Witch, of course. Speaking of Witch," his smile widened at his little pun, "her mate is now close enough that she can sense his presence, but with her mind in the state its in, I think she would be quite receptive to a little visit from 'Vegeta'." And with that he shoved the minor problem of his disturbing underling from his mind.

Vegeta flew through the surrounding shadows, using every sense he had to try locating his mate. He was so focused that he almost didn't react in time to dodge the energy attack that shot from the darkness below, cutting through the center of the place he had been seconds before, and then disappearing into the blackness above. Vegeta looked down to see who had attacked him and his eyes widened as he watched the figure slowly separating from the gloom. 

The shadowy form of his opponent smirked at him before taunting him with, "What's the matter little monkey? Cat got your tongue?" He waved his tail in the air behind him, a cruel reminder of what Vegeta now lacked. It took Vegeta a moment to gain control of his voice but when he did, all of his hate and rage was focused into the word he spat out.

_"Freeza!"_

* * *

Bum, bum, bum! I don't know why I set myself up like this when I know I suck at action. Oh well, I promise to give it my best shot, and I've even been practicing so maybe it'll be a bit better. You can always hope ~.~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Thanks for Reviews~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ifonly: I see. Well thank you for the reviews. It's very flattering to find a new reviewer so long after my fic began. Although, I suppose I should warn you that I have a rather playful streak that nudges me to leave cliffies, weird twists, and obscure connections that no one else would care about, but are tossed in anyways for my own twisted sense of humor. 

Sailor Purgatory: I'm glad you're satisfied with my offering of Geoffrey in lieu of a lengthy chapter. I can only hope your sentiments carry through into this one, since this one isn't much longer, but lacks the Geoffrey moments. Thanks as always for the reviews.

Empress Sarah-sama: Oh sure, laugh. Lol, you seem to love hating poor insane Ixtarn  I've noticed you get very into it in your reviews. You're enthusiasm, even this far into my story is very pleasing and I want to thank you for all of your emotionally unstable reviews! As and as to the Veggie ring thing, well don't worry… it will only get sweeter! *already gagging on the sweetness to come*


	29. Chapter 29- The Revelation

A/N: Alright, this one is real sort. I'm just getting back into the swing of things here, for which I apologize. I had a surprisingly good for me chapter that had a really nifty fight scene with Vegeta and Freeza, but I lost it somehow and got discouraged. My pitiful excuse for not posting sooner. Thanks to all who read and put up with the vagaries of my moods, sorry feeling vaguely depressed for some reason… ~_~

Priceless Jewels  
Chapter 29- The Revelation

They found him stretched out on the bed, Draca told Goku to stay with his body until he woke up and to try to keep him from hurting himself while he was in the Abyss. The others had returned to defending the Keep against the sporadic assaults.

The proud prince looked almost peaceful in spite of his fierce expression. Goku studied him, watching for any hint of disturbance in his features. He was almost convinced that Draca's concern had been groundless when suddenly Vegeta's entire body stiffened. 

"_Freeza!_ _What are you doing here?!_" he hissed furiously, his body muscles bunching painfully. 

"Oh shit." *Hey! Freeza's in Vegeta's _head_! What am I supposed to do?! *

**~The Abyss~**

"_What are you doing here?!_" he hissed furiously.

"Now is that any way to talk to your _Master_ monkey boy?" the purple lizard mocked him. "I'm here to help Ixtarn retrieve the jewel so that he can unleash its awful power across the universe, destroying his enemies and enslaving all living creatures everywhere. And once he's finished doing that I will once again resume my place as the most powerful being in the universe!" Freeza made his grand pronouncement in ringing maniacal tones, before snorting disdainfully, "As if I'd waste my time on anything less." 

"Does he know that he's doing all this for you?" Vegeta asked dryly focusing on Freeza's movements, watching carefully for an opening in which to strike. 

"Of course not. But do you honestly think I'd toady up to that thing unless it was to regain my former power? In fact once I have the jewel I'll be even more powerful than I ever was before! And just think what fun I'll have with the little blue female when I'm finished!" Freeza licked his lips suggestively knowing that the little blue female in question belonged to his old slave. 

"If you even think of touching her, I swear to you I'll," Vegeta began only to get cut off by Freeza's derisive laughter.

"You'll what monkey prince? Beat me up? I'm already dead there's not exactly a lot you can do to me! Where as, there's a great deal _I_ can do to you… after I finish with the blue haired wench, of course."

"You're a fool Freeza. In a way I suppose I should be grateful for that though. You know I've always hated Kakarott. No. Hate is too mild for what I've felt for him… hate pales beside what I feel toward him and do you know why? Because he, a third class clown who bumped his head and doesn't even remember his own race, stumbled in and defeated you when I should have done it. I should have been the one to destroy you… Because of what you did to my people. But now I realized that you were never completely dead. Kakarott knows nothing of the Saiyans, he accepts the powers granted him by the blood in his veins but lacks the knowledge of what that once meant, without ever understanding what it truly meant to be Saiyan and seeing only what we became under your twisted rule. And for that I hated you even more. Now however, I will kill you, returning you completely to the darkness so that you no longer exist even in HFIL. Then my own hands will have avenged my planet. After, I may continue to hate Kakarott, but I will no longer despise myself for my weakness in failing to kill you."

"Pretty words monkey boy, but you couldn't beat me before. You can't beat me now. In case you've forgotten I am the strongest being in the universe!"

"Is that why you were lost to Kakarott and were killed by that boy? By my count that means there are at least two who are more powerful than you. But since it seems you've forgotten that both were Saiyans allow me to refresh your memory of what _losing to a monkey is like_!" Vegeta launched himself at Freeza, avoiding his long lashing tail. 

**~The Keep~**

Goku flinched as he heard the raw emotion in Vegeta's tormented voice. His expressive eyes filled with sorrow and understanding as he finally had a glimpse at what the prince had been going through for the past couple of years, felt the emotions flowing unchecked from the prone man. Then Vegeta's body arched, his body quivering under the strain his mind was placing on it. Goku was abruptly reminded of why he was there and he grabbed onto Vegeta's trying to press him into the mattress to restrain him. 

_ChiChi!_ _This isn't working! I can't hold him much longer!_  Goku nearly lost his grip when Vegeta planted his fist in his stomach.

_What are you talking about Goku? You wear the Black. You should be able to hold him down in his present state, just use your jewel. _ChiChi's voice was distracted as she responded.

_HOW?! _ Goku was slammed into a wall as Vegeta viciously kicked him. "Ow!"

_Like this Goku._ ChiChi's mind brushed against his and he blinked, as her experience became his. This was something she'd never before used so he hadn't learned any of this through their bond before.

"Oh ok Chi. Thanks!"__

_No problem darling._

Goku called his power out of his jewel and wrapped restraining strands of power around Vegeta's body, forcing it down to the bed. Then he sat down to keep watch by his friend's side, unable to do anything to help him.

**~The Abyss~**

"Bulma."

"What? Ve-Vegeta? Is that you?" Bulma asked in a hopeful almost trembling voice.

"Yes it's me wench. Who were you expecting? You were expecting someone else weren't you? Maybe you were expecting that idiot weakling Yamcha?! I should have known better than to attach myself to a pitiful human slut!" Vegeta's angry black eyes bored into hers.

"What? But you know that isn't true! I've never been unfaithful!" she protested weakly as something tightened painfully around her wrists, causing her to cry out. A hand cupped her face. _There was something about that hand…_ She tried to focus on it as Vegeta's words pounded against her.

"Don't lie to me! I know you want to return to Yamcha, even after everything he's done to you! You always do. Well you deserve him, bitch!" With that he shoved her head back, releasing her as if she were contaminated. He wiped his glove off on his training suit and stalked away, giving her a burning look as he did so that spoke of pain at her betrayal, a look that cut deeper than any of his harsh words had.

"It's not true, not him. Not Vegeta, he would never… _VEGETA!!!_" She screamed out as his body disappeared into the mist without another backward glance.  


* * *

Alright, short and not the promised action. I will get on it. At any rate, A generalized apology to any who were inconvenienced by my lack of updates, and a special thanks to all who are sticking with me.   
Aside from that I only have a couple of plugs: Dark Fools by Grimmara and myself, When Did THAT Happen?! by me, The Contract by me, Kissing Bloody Roses by Icia(since Icia started updating again! ^.~), and since Mistress was kind enough to plug my fic, Their Assignment… I think that's it. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Thanks for Reviews~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
To the nameless reviewer(sorry but I don't know what to call you): Thanks for reviewing. Sorry I know it kind of leans more towards the Jewels but there's a reason for that. Thanks for the review.

Bulma: I am sorry about not e-mail notices out. I fell down on the job of writing and posting as well it would appear. *hangs head in shame* I shall try to be better about that. And thanks for reviewing.

Sailor Purgatory: Sorry to have extended your wait. This chapter has no Geoffrey, the next chapter or the one after that probably will. Thanks for the input, and happy late b-day.

Sensation236: Lol, thanks. I bet it is a bit confusing. As it was pointed out to me that this leans more towards the Jewels and thank you for reading.  
Empress Sarah-sama: Nope not too sweet! And not too emotionally unstable either. Just enough to keep things interesting. Lol, thanks for the review.

Ifonly: No I haven't read anything of yours remind to remedy that. Thanks for the good luck but now I have to redo it. ~_~

Raksha: I'm back! Finally. I didn't realize how much I missed writing. Hm… anyways, I am not dead, demon-dead or otherwise incapacitated, a though I had a brief stint being bodiless for a bit. Anyways, I thank you for reading and appreciating my efforts in the When Did THAT Happen?! fic. The Darkness Embrace. 


	30. Chapter 30 The Madness

A/N: I apologize for being absent for so long. In case you haven't noticed my updates are now going to be few and far between. I mean, even more so probably than they were before. T_T  Also I would like it to be known that I have not had any form of contact with the outside world since my computer committed suicide. We briefly managed to revive it; however it chose to pull its plug. 

Priceless Jewels  
Chapter 30- The Madness

**~The Abyss~**__

Cold black eyes stared into each other, measuring. Vegeta launched himself forward, Freeza seeing this followed suit. The two collided together in a fierce hail of punches and kicks. Their movements were too rapid to be seen; anyone watching would only have the already forming bruises to go by as to what was happening between the two. 

Suddenly, Vegeta saw an opening when Freeza blocked his kick. His fist whistled through the air toward Freeza, landing an uppercut that launched the purple lizard into an almost graceful backward arcing dive. Vegeta smirked as he cut through the air after his opponent. He never noticed when his armor started to softly pulse with a faint blue light that was tinged softly yellow… just around the edges.

**~The Keep~**__

"You should get some rest. I can hold him down for a while."

Goku jerked at the sound of the voice at the sound of a voice coming from the doorway. He had been so absorbed that he hadn't even heard the older man approach. 

"No thanks Saetan. I can handle it, besides, it wouldn't be right for me to leave Vegeta right now."

"Goku, the Keep is still under attack. Chichi has some beans she wants to give you. She says the boyos need more help, and she asked me to take over for you." 

"Sensu beans? Ok, I'll let you take over. Be careful though. If it slips at all he'll start pounding on you. Trust me, I know." Goku grimaced as he rose; lightly rubbing a hand over his still sore ribs where the angry prince had managed to kick him earlier. 

Saetan slid his own webs in place over the prone body, waiting for Goku to drop his. He settled into the now vacated chair as Goku flew out the door in search of his wife. 

**~The Abyss~**__

_"VEGETA!!!"_

Vegeta's head snapped back, bones cracking painfully. The scream had distracted him, causing his own punch to go wide while allowing Freeza the perfect opportunity to land his fist in the prince's face. Vegeta fell back, shaking his head to clear his vision. He quickly raised his hands into a defensive position as he realized his enemy was no longer in front of him. He felt the knee connect with his back, and saw half formed shapes flitting beyond his vision as he hurtled through empty space toward the swirling mist below.

Purple suddenly filled his vision as Freeza appeared once more, mere inches in front of him. Vegeta had no time to respond when the purple lizard interlocked the fingers of his hands into a single fist, slamming upward against the saiyan's chin, and sending him careening back into the darkness above. 

Vegeta flew through the air. He couldn't control his movement, so he locked his arms in front of his face, bracing his legs against the empty air. Energy flared around him, a white aura that slowed him down until he stopped. His breath came painfully in short pants while his eyes narrowed viciously; staring down upon the spitefully smiling face of what had once been his owner. His lips drew back in a silent snarl. Bulma was in danger and Freeza was keeping him from her. Suddenly a thought struck Vegeta. He dropped his defensive stance and began to smile… maliciously. 

The gleeful look on Freeza's face slowly faded as the arrogant prince's attitude registered. He moved into a slightly more cautious stance; his tail flipping around in the air behind him, as he tried to figure out what Vegeta was up to. The purple lizard could think of no reason for the saiyan to suddenly seem so confident. Freeza's eyes flickered between the cold black eyes and the muscular chest of his opponent, watching for even the slightest movement or change of expression. One or the other would be his first hint as to what the monkey was up to.

Suddenly Vegeta dropped, straight down, slashing through the darkness toward the reaching fingers of the fog below. A startled noise escaped from the throat of Freeza at this unexpected move before he plunged after him, wondering what was supposed to be accomplished with this little maneuver. Vegeta fell into the mist, followed closely by his enemy. 

_*I'm coming Bulma.* _

"What are you up to monkey boy? You know you can't beat me, not in time for you to save your female." Freeza strained his senses, searching the thick mist for a hint of Vegeta's location. He yelled as a blast of blue-white light struck him from behind. Freeza rolled to his feet.

"Up to?" 

Another blast of energy struck Freeza from the side. 

"Nothing." 

A barrage of small blasts rained at the purple warlord, seemingly from every direction at once. Blood seeped from small gashes that suddenly appeared all over Freeza's scaled skin. Freeza searched the mists, but could see nothing except the teasing coils wrapping around him, obscuring his vision. He couldn't feel the other man's energy either. The lizard started to get nervous as he realized just how silent everything was. Aside from the thundering of his heart and the harsh sound of his own breath, there was nothing to be heard…  _absolutely _nothing_. _

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Thanks for Reviews~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To the nameless reviewer (I still don't know what to call people without names): Thanks for the review. Yes I was quite bitter about the idiot who flamed me without reading the rest of my work, and again I'm sorry that my story leans more towards the jewels. It wasn't what I intended when I started but my stories just seem to take over at a certain point, and then I am no longer in complete control. 

Sailor Purgatory: Sorry, I've taken so long. My muse has devoted herself to the Art and refuses to respond to anything else without a great deal of prodding. I shall try to actually make time for updating, but the ART is all consuming and I don't have much time for anything anymore…

Empress Sarah-sama: That's ok, I shall accept those types of reviews as well.  Again I deeply apologize for taking forever. *hangs head*

Destonius:  Thanks for the review. Sorry, I took so long, and I'm glad someone got their computer fixed. I think mine is beyond all hope.

Grimsister: Heh, sorry I've been taking _forever_ haven't I? I'll try to update my stories more often. Laters, Mara. Ps: Call me sometime ok? My cell was disconnected but you should have my room #. If I'm not there you'll get my answering machine. Bubye now.

Pandora666: I know, I've been naughty and haven't updated at all lately, actually I haven't written barely at all since school started. -_- I'll try to do better.  


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